Do you expect God to answer your prayer? Or do you struggle to maintain a prayerfully expectant heart?
For years, maybe even decades, Simeon had been waiting for God to fulfill a promise. Was he weary of waiting?
I don’t think so. Simeon was a man of faith, “righteous and
devout…eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel [and]
the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25, NLT).
The Hebrew word
often translated waiting in Luke 2:25 means “expectant.” The Message
words the verse this way: “Simeon…lived in the prayerful expectancy of
help for Israel.” By the power of the Holy Spirit who rested on him,
Simeon lived in confident hope because the Spirit had said Simeon “would
not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah” (v. 26, NIV).
So Simeon waited. He watched. He prayed.
Simeon’s Expectancy
One
day, the Spirit told him to go to the temple. Maybe that was all the
information Simeon received. Just go. And he went. What did he think
when he saw the young couple among the temple crowd that day? Did the
Spirit say, “That’s what you’ve been waiting for. Go to them”?
The
prophet Isaiah wrote that there “was nothing beautiful or majestic”
about Jesus’ appearance that would have drawn people to him (53:2, NLT).
Perhaps that also applied to his earthly parents. Mary and Joseph were
probably dressed in the drab, coarse garments of the lower class. They
brought the offering of the impoverished to the temple that day — two
birds (Leviticus 12:2-6;Luke 2:24).
And yet, when the Spirit told
Simeon to approach the family of three, he obeyed. When he took the
baby in his arms, Simeon knew he was the Messiah. This baby would bring
salvation to both Jew and Gentile (Luke 2:32). This baby would bring
“salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6, NIV).
Simeon’s
story illustrates three principles of cultivating a prayerfully
expectant heart — a heart that is content to wait in confidence for God
to fulfill his promises — the kind of heart I want to cultivate, but
struggle to nurture.
Cultivating a Prayerfully Expectant Heart
One
of my goals is to cultivate a prayerfully expectant heart — a heart
like Simeon’s. Here are three ways I’m going to pursue this:
Believe God’s promises.
First,
I’ll focus more on the certainty of God’s promises and less on why the
fulfillment of those promises might be delayed. Too often I’m exploring
all the reasons God isn’t doing what I think he should do. What if I’m
not obeying in some area? What if I’ve missed an opportunity that would
have led to the answer?
Self-examination can be helpful. Paul
told the Corinthians, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is
genuine” (2 Corinthians 13:5, NLT). But when that examination causes me
to doubt God’s Word, I’m headed down a dangerous path. To help combat
unhealthy examination, I’ll cling to this truth: “The one who calls you
is faithful, and he will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24, NIV).
Obey God’s Spirit.
Second,
I’m asking God to make me more sensitive to the Spirit’s nudges and
less resistant to risk. I’m not a risk-taker. I’m much more likely to
remain silent and inactive than to speak up and do something. So this
year, I’m asking God to provide an opportunity each day for me to speak
or act on his behalf. Part of my prayer goes like this: “Holy Spirit,
shove me in the right direction. Shout at me if you need to.” I’ll keep
these words of Paul in mind: “Be wise in the way you act toward
outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5, NIV).
Seek God’s heart.
Third,
I’m asking God to free me from my expectations and increase the clarity
of my spiritual vision. I usually move through my days expecting people
— friends, family, coworkers, strangers — to act in certain ways. When
they don’t, I sometimes allow disappointment or anger to dictate my
responses. I may lash out with unkind words or actions. Or I may seethe
in silence.
So part of my daily prayer will be “Lord, help me see
others through your eyes — eyes of hope, love, and patience. You’re
working in and through them. How can I respond to them in a way that
pleases you and edifies them?” I’ll also pray-it-forward, thanking God
for the work I know he is doing in others and in me. I’ll rely on the
truth that God will complete the work he has begun in me and in others
(Philippians 1:6). God is “able to keep [us] from falling away and will
bring [us] with great joy into his glorious presences without a single
fault” (Jude 1:24, NLT).
Through the power of the Holy Spirit we, like Simeon, can cultivate a prayerfully expectant heart.
[written by Denise K. Loock]
