What Do You Hope to See?

I started asking a question a few years ago that changed the way I pray for people.

Before I pray for someone — before I lay hands on them, before I agree with them in faith, before I open my mouth and speak anything over their situation — I ask:

What do you hope to see?

Not what do you expect. Not what has the doctor said. Not what has happened before. What do you HOPE to see?

I started doing this because I noticed something. People would ask for prayer but their words and their expectation were two very different things. They wanted prayer but they had already decided in their heart what was possible. They were going through the motions of faith while quietly bracing for disappointment.

And you cannot receive what you are not expecting.

Jesus asked blind Bartimaeus what seems like an obvious question — "What do you want me to do for you?" The man was blind. Wasn't it obvious? But Jesus asked anyway. Because the answer mattered. Because expectation matters. Because faith is not just believing God can — it is believing God will. For you. Today.

When I ask someone what they hope to see their answer tells me everything about where their faith is sitting. Sometimes their eyes light up immediately — they know exactly what they are believing for and they are holding onto it with both hands. Those prayers are a joy to pray. The atmosphere is already charged before a word is spoken.

Other times there is a long pause. A look of surprise, like no one has ever asked them that before. And then something quiet and a little broken comes out — something they have stopped letting themselves say out loud because hope deferred had made their heart sick. Those prayers matter just as much. Sometimes more. Because before we can pray I need to help them find their hope again. I need to remind them that it is not only allowed to hope — it is required.

Hope is not wishful thinking. Biblical hope is a confident expectation based on who God is and what He has promised. It is not naive. It is not ignoring reality. It is choosing to believe that God's reality is bigger than the one in front of you.

So before you pray for someone — ask them. Before you pray for yourself — ask yourself. Sit with it. Be honest.

What do you hope to see?

Let that answer be the seed you plant when you pray. Let it be the thing you hold onto while you wait. Let it be the language of your faith when the enemy tries to talk you out of believing.

Expectation is not arrogance. It is not presumption. It is the posture of a child who knows their Father and trusts that He is good.

Ask the question. Mean it. Then pray like you believe the answer is possible.

Because with Him — it always is.