Praying When the Unexpected Disillusions and Hope Wanes

Hope Is an Act of Defiance

I don’t know where your hope is struggling. Maybe your beleaguered hope is for…

• A loved one to be saved
• A child to come home
• A marriage to be restored
• Your body to be healed
• Your finances to be restored
• Your career to be revived
• A home of your own

Whatever it is, it’s time to risk hoping again. Whatever dream we had that died, whatever promise we gave up on, the truth of God’s Word says that we serve a God with resurrection power who specializes in raising the dead.1 The truth we believe says we serve a God who redeems our lives from the pit, who gives us peace instead of conflict, who gives us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, who gives us the oil of joy instead of mourning, who gives us health instead of disease, liberty instead of captivity, assurance instead of doubt, hope instead of hopelessness.2

Our God is a transformational God. He transforms us from the inside out, and makes all things new in our lives — first in our spirits when we accept him as our Lord and Savior, and then in our souls as we continue to surrender areas of our lives to him: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come…

For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. — 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

God is a God of redemption, restoration, and new beginnings. He’s made you a new creation, and that newness can work from the inside out to change your today into a better tomorrow. If you don’t like where you are right now, you don’t have to settle or resign yourself to it. You can hold onto His promise as the truth that triumphs over the facts in your life:

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. — Philippians 1:6

When we risk hoping again, we learn how to live in the present, but with the future in mind. We shift the gaze of our focus forward. We become prisoners of hope who cling to hope, who speak the language of hope, who don’t put off hope, who are willing to let God surprise us with a new future. When we become prisoners of hope, we commit a daring act of defiance — we dare to get our hopes up. We dare to believe that the desires God has placed in our hearts will be fulfilled — somehow and some way.3

Will they look like we first imagined? Probably not.

Will we go through more disappointments? Most likely.

Will any of our future dreams die as well before they come to life? Quite possibly.

Why? Because every promise is tested. Every dream is challenged.

God does not always do what we want, when we want, or how we want — but He is always ready to do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond anything we could ever ask or think.4

He who promised really is faithful, no matter what it looks like in any season of our lives. When we become prisoners of hope, we declare with defiance that there is…

• No need God cannot meet
• No mountain God cannot move
• No prayer God cannot answer
• No sickness God cannot heal
• No heart God cannot mend
• No door God cannot open

When we become prisoners of hope, we aren’t dismayed when dreams…

• Take longer than we think they should
• Cost more than we think they should
• Are harder to realize than we think they should be

When we become prisoners of hope, we shift our perspective. We . . .

• Look at what we have left, not what we have lost
• Believe the best, not assume the worst
• Keep moving forward, not shrink backward

It’s time to become prisoners of hope, brave souls who are defiant in hope, who dare to get our hopes up. Let’s refuse to throw away our confidence and trust in God, daring to believe he will reward our faith.

1.Matthew 9:24.

2.Isaiah 61:3; Psalm 103.

3.Proverbs 13:12.

4.Ephesians 3:20–21.

Excerpted with permission from Unexpected by Christine Caine, copyright Christine Caine.

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Your Turn

When the unexpected disillusions, it can be hard to pray in hope and to defiantly choose faith in the God who never fails. Have you had your prayer life challenged by your hope waning? Come share with us on our blog. We want to hear from you.

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