12. Pray With Expectancy

The fog of collective unbelief has been rolling in, reducing our ability to carry out the mission of the church in effective ways. The fog goes hand in hand with a lack of expectancy in prayer. Most Christians sincerely believe that when Christ comes there will be a multitude of believers from every tribe and nation standing before God’s throne and praising him. But for all practical purposes, they don’t believe that God will do anything truly significant for the advance of his kingdom where they live, in their neighborhood, at their place of employment, or even in their life and church. There is a lack of expectancy in prayer. The kingdom has come! It will come in its fullness. But when God’s people don’t really expect what God has promised, that’s a form of unbelief; and unbelief calls for prayers of repentance and faith.