Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.     
     Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
Psalm 5:3 (NLT)

When I was a kid, I often made outrageous requests of my parents at Christmas time. I’d leaf through the catalog and put some crazy expensive toy on my list. I knew there was no way that toy would be under the tree, but I threw it on there anyway. What’s funny is, I still have a lot of that kid in me. When Wendy asked me for a wish list for my birthday, I gave her a complete list that included both the practical and affordable as well as outgrageous (she loved seeing a motorcycle on the list). There’s no expectation that the outrageous would happen, but it’s out there.

I thought about prayer this morning in relationship to what happens after we pray. Do we sincerely present God with meaningful requests and then wait consciously, expectantly, knowing that God has both the power and desire to answer our prayers? Or, do we treat prayer a bit like an outrageous wish list? We throw it out there, but quickly walk away and forget about it because in our hearts we doubt God would ever answer.

Today, I’m not just mindful of my on-going conversation with God and the sincerity of my requests, but also my own response to my prayers. I don’t want to be like the farmer who throws seed up into the wind and then walks away. I want to plant my seeds carefully, then wait expectently for things to emerge.