The Glory Of God Departing — Brian Long

I didn't know that I was going to be preaching here until Brother Greg asked me just the night before last, but God has put a word on my heart, and what I want to talk to you about is when the glory of God returns, when the glory of God returns.

Ichabod: When the Glory of God Departs

But before we see how the glory of God returns to His people, to His temple, we're first going to look at how the glory of God departs. There's a word, a Hebrew word in the Old Testament that probably all of you are familiar with for when the glory of God departs.

It's the word Ichabod. The first time this word Ichabod is used in the Bible was when the Philistines came in and defeated God's people Israel. God allowed it to happen. God was. The people of God were rebelling against him, sinning against him, and so God allowed enemy armies to come in and to defeat them.

And one of the first things the enemy of the enemies of God, the Philistine armies, did was they robbed the people of God. Of the presence of God, as it is, they took the ark of the covenant. And if you'll recall, the ark of the covenant was a place where the glory of God would come down and rest upon.

In essence, the people of God were robbed of the presence of God. The glory of God was gone. There's nothing that the enemy of our souls wants more than to rob us from the presence of almighty God. Folks, apart from the presence of God, we are no different than any other man.

Take the presence of God or the glory of God out of a temple, out of a chapel like this. And the building is no different than even a pub. We need the presence of God. We need the glory of God. This is what happened to Israel.

And Abinjamite came running back from battle lines and he came to tell Eli the priest the tragic news. That Eli's sons, both of his sons, had been killed and the ark of the covenant was gone. The enemy had taken it away.

When Eli heard this news, he was an old man, he was a big heavy man. And when he heard this tragic news, he fell backwards off of his chair and broke his neck and died. One of his daughter-in-laws who was pregnant and ready to give birth to a son heard this news.

Not only did her father-in-law die, her husband was now dead. The ark of the covenant was gone. She immediately went into labor. She gave birth to a baby boy and overcome with labor pains, she died.

Just before she died, she named this child Ichabod, which means the glory of the Lord has departed from Israel. The glory of God was gone. And tragically, it was that way for many, many years until under the reign of King David, when the ark of the covenant was taken back from the enemy, from the Philistines, brought back to the people of God.

And God put it on the heart of David to build him a house, a temple. But it wasn't David who would build that temple, it was his son Solomon. And if you recall with me, when Solomon built the temple of the Lord, he dedicated the temple of God to God in prayer.

And the scripture says, when Solomon made an end of praying, as soon as he finished praying, fire fell from heaven. And the glory of the Lord filled the house of God to such a degree that the priest couldn't even enter into the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the house.

And all they could do was fall on the pavement with their faces to the ground and with one voice worship and praise the living God, saying he is good and his mercy endures forever. The glory of the Lord had returned.

What I want you to see, brothers and sisters, is that while the glory of God can indeed depart from a place and depart from a people, the glory of the Lord can also return to a place and return to a people.

Ezekiel 8: Idolatry Drives the Glory From the Temple

Now what we're going to look at now in the book of Ezekiel chapter 8 is first of all another time when the glory of God had departed. And I want us to specifically see just why the glory of the Lord departed.

What caused God to withdraw his presence? What caused his glory to depart? Ezekiel chapter 8, verse 1. And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.

Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire, from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire, and from his loins even upward as the appearance of brightness as the color of amber. And he put forth the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold, toward northward at the gate of the altar, this image of jealousy in the entry.

He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do, even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary, but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

Now, Ezekiel is caught up in the spirit and God is showing him visions of the temple and what's going on inside of the temple that is causing his glory to about to depart. God is saying in essence to Ezekiel, Ezekiel, I'm going to show you why my glory is leaving my temple.

And Ezekiel is given a vision. He sees inside the temple of God and he sees the glory of God there. But he also sees something else. Something that doesn't belong. It's this image of jealousy, he says in verse 3.

An image of jealousy that is provoking God to jealousy and provoking God to anger. It's an idol standing in the house of God, an idol in the place where only God should dwell, where only God should have glory, where only God should be receiving glory.

An image of jealousy. How would you feel, men, those of you who are married, if you were to go home this afternoon and discover that another man had moved into your house and he says to you, I'm taking up residence here also and I'm going to share your responsibility as husband and man of the house.

Would it not provoke you to anger? Would it not provoke you to jealousy? You better believe it would. And to a much greater degree, any time, any image, anything else raises up itself to receive glory and honor that only God deserves and only God is worthy of.

It provokes the almighty God to jealousy and to anger. And this was a reason that God was beginning to withdraw the sense of his presence. His glory was departing. There was an image of jealousy in the house of God.

Our God is a jealous God. The scripture says that. He says in Isaiah 42 verse 8, I am the Lord, that is my name and my glory will I not give to another. Neither my praise to graven images. Yet again, here the image of jealousy is sharing the temple with the glory of God and God will never tolerate that.

Secret Sin and the Loss of Truth in the Inner Parts

But the vision goes on. Verse seven says, and he brought me to the door of the court. And when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, son of man, dig now in the wall. And when I digged in the wall, behold, a door.

And he said unto me, go in and behold the wicked abominations they do here. So I went in and saw and behold every form of creeping things, an abominable beast. And all the idols of the house of Israel portrayed upon the wall roundabout.

And there stood before them 70 men of the ancients of the house of Israel. And in the midst of them stood Jason, the son of Shaphan. With every man, his sensor in his hand and a thick cloud of incense went up.

Then said he unto me, son of man, Hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the chambers of his imagery. For they say the Lord seeth us not. The Lord has forsaken the earth.

They were doing despicable things in secret hidden rooms of the temple. Worshipping images in dark hidden places of as if the Lord couldn't see them. In fact, they said the Lord does not see us. Oh, but God did see them.

God sees everything we do in secret, everything that is done in the dark. Nothing is hid before the eyes of him with whom we have to do. And I say it with a broken heart. But I don't know if you know the statistics of pastors in America.

And I'm sure it's the same here. Pastors giving themselves over to sin and iniquity in secret places. Addicted to things like pornography. Doing things in dark hidden secret rooms. As if no one sees. Oh, but God does see.

And God's heart grieves. And God's heart breaks. And it's because of what the people of God are doing in secret. Folks, if we're not real in our private lives. If we're not for real with God in the secret place.

It doesn't matter how many songs we sing. How many prayers we pray. If we're not living before the face of God 24 -7, 365 days out of the year. Then we're not real. God wants truth in the inner parts.

And it's because of what the people of God. As our brother prayed a while ago. The problem is not with the world. The problem lies in the house of God. And what the people of God were doing in secret.

That grieve the heart of God. And God is saying in essence. Ezekiel, this is why. This is why my glory is departed. D .L. Moody said character is what a man is in the dark. Can I ask you brothers and sisters?

Who are you in the dark? Who are you in the secret place? Who are you in your home? Among your family? In hidden rooms? That's who we really are. The vision continues in verse 13. He said unto me, turn thee yet again.

And thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house. Which was toward the north. And behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Now, Tammuz was an idol.

An idol of vegetation. And here during a drought. The women would gather around and weep over this idol. It was absurd. It was absolute stupidity. But how many of even God's people will weep at the most ridiculous things?

Coming off of a TV screen. But never shed a tear for a soul. Never weep for souls. Never weep for what God weeps over. Verse 15. Then said he unto me, hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee yet again.

And thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house. And behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord. Between the porch and the altar. Were about five and twenty men.

With their backs toward the temple of the Lord. And their faces toward the east. And they worshiped the sun toward the east. They had turned their backs on the altar of God. Because they had turned their back on the living God.

And they began to worship the sun. S-U-N. They began to worship the created things instead of the creator. And folks, that's the first step. Toward becoming a reprobate. That's the first step toward God's holy wrath and judgment.

Romans chapter 1 says. In verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. And unrighteousness of men. Who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Then he says in verse 22. That such people were professing themselves to be wise.

They became fools. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God. Into an image made like to corruptible man. And to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness.

Through the lust of their own hearts. To dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Who changed the truth of God into a lie. And worshiped and served the creature more than the creator. Who is blessed forever.

Amen. And it's for this cause that God gave them over to vile affections. Worshiping the created thing. Instead of the creator. Anytime we exalt the man. Anytime we worship what God has created. Instead of the living God who is the creator.

We are sinning against God. And for these things the glory of God is departed. The vision continues. Verse 17. Then he said unto me. Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing? In other words, is this a small thing?

Is this a little thing to the house of Judah. That they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence. And have returned to provoke me to anger. And lo, they put the branch to their nose.

Turning their nose up at God. Mocking him, scoffing him. Filling the land with violence. Maybe the people of God aren't filling the land with violence. Maybe they are. But I know many professing children of God.

Who are entertaining themselves with violence. And perversion. And in doing so are turning their nose up at God. Scoffing him as if he is not there. Now, because of all of these things. Let me go on, verse 18.

Therefore will I also deal in my fury. Mine eye shall not spare. Neither will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice. Yet I will not hear them. God will not hear the prayers of people who are playing religious games.

He will not do it. He sees what's going on in the house. And because of these things, his glory is departing. But here is what. It breaks my heart. It gets a hold of my heart. It gives me hope. While God is a holy and just God.

And he must depart. He cannot look upon sin. His eyes are too holy to tolerate this. He must judge sin. His glory must depart. But did you know? His glory departed. Ever so reluctantly. Ever so slowly.

The Reluctant Departure of God’s Glory

It's as if he doesn't want to leave. Look with me, if you will, in chapter 10. In verse 4. It says,. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub and stood over the threshold of the house. And the house was filled with the cloud.

And the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. So the glory of God is lifting. And moving away. But it just moves to the threshold of the door. And he stops. And then we move on over to verse 18 of chapter 10.

And it says,. The glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight when they went out.

The wheels also were beside them. And everyone stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house. And the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. So the glory of God. We see it lift. Go to the threshold.

Now it moves again and goes over to the east gate. And he stops again. Ever so reluctant to leave. Ever so slowly. God is so patient with us. Not willing that any should perish. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

But that the wicked turn from their way and live. He is a loving, merciful, gracious God. Slow to anger. Abounding in mercy. And so he's not completely left yet. Moving ever so slowly away. In chapter 11, verse 22.

It says, then did the cherubim lift up their wings. And the wheels beside them. And the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city. And stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

So again, the glory of God goes from the house of God to the threshold and stops. Waiting for his people to repent. They won't repent. So he moves further to the east gate. Waiting for his people to repent.

They won't repent. So he moves further to the city. And then up on the mountain. And then he's gone. Why is the Lord so slow to anger? So very patient with us. Because God knows what we are left with when his glory departs.

The only thing we are left with when the glory of God departs. Is judgment. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ wept over the city of Jerusalem. He wept over the city of Jerusalem with a broken heart. Because he knew what they were left with.

Listen to this in Luke chapter 19. In verse 41. When he, Jesus, was come near. He beheld the city and wept over it. Saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace.

But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the day shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee. And compass thee round and keep thee in on every side. And shall lay thee even with the ground and thy children within thee.

And they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another. Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Brothers and sisters, do we know, do we recognize the time of our visitation? That God in his mercy is bringing a people together.

And giving them the burden of his heart. And he's burdened us to pray and to believe him for revival to come. Why is he doing this today in our day? Because judgment is at the very door. The judgment and wrath of God is at the very threshold.

And it's the mercy of God. How God, he wept over Jerusalem. How he must weep over much of the professing church of Jesus Christ today. I believe God weeps. I believe his heart is broken. How he must weep to see a place like this.

Where once was such a manifestation of his presence and of his power and of his glory. And chapels were full to overflowing. And souls were being saved by the hundreds and thousands. Does God look down and see the same thing today?

The glory of God is departing. In some places has departed. And God weeps with a broken heart. But while the glory of God is departing or in some cases has already departed. My question is, is there hope?

Jesus Christ, the King of Glory

Is there any hope today? And the answer is yes, there is. And hope is not found in a place, saints, but in a person. Because the glory of God is not something. It's someone. And Jesus Christ is his name.

He is the king of glory. When the king of glory comes. The glory of God returns. When we're talking about the glory of God returning. We're not talking about something. We're talking about someone. The king of glory to come in.

And take his rightful place in his church. The very people he bled and died for. To come into our hearts and take up. To have the preeminence. To take his rightful place. And so I want you to turn to Psalm 24.

Where we look now at how the glory of God returns. By the king of glory coming in. Psalm 24. The earth is the Lord's. And the fullness thereof. The world and they that dwell therein. For he has founded it upon the seas.

And established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands. And a pure heart. Who hath not lifted up his soul into vanity.

Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord. And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation. Of them that seek him. That seek thy face. O Jacob. The king of glory.

He goes on to say lift up your heads. O you gates. And be lifted up you everlasting doors. And the king of glory shall come in. Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads. O you gates. And lift them up you everlasting doors. And the king of glory shall come in. Who is this king of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the king of glory. But just to whom does this king of glory come?

He comes according to verse 6. To a generation of them that seek him. That seek his face. This is the generation. In other words he is saying you find a generation. Of young and old. Doesn't matter. You find a generation that is seeking the face of God.

They have left off everything else. And they have one passion. And that is to seek the face of God. And they are seeking the face of God. With clean hands and pure hearts. And sanctified tongues. And God's word says this is the generation.

That will see the king of glory. To this generation the king of glory will come in. I praise God for what he has done in the past. I rejoice in studying about past revivals. And history of revivals. But folks if we live in the past we will die in the past.

It is not enough just to rejoice in what God has done. He is looking for a generation in the present. This time today. Who will seek his face. Again with clean hands. Pure hearts. Sanctified tongues. And when God finds such a generation.

When the king of glory finds such a generation. He will come. He will come. The glory of God will return. And when the king of glory comes in. That way you have revival. Then he says notice in verse 7.

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus Alone

Lift up your heads O ye gates. That is a command to the church of Jesus Christ. Lift up your heads. That is to say open your eyes. And fix them on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let Jesus Christ the king of glory.

Fill your vision. Let him alone fill your vision. Look to him alone. Why is this so important? Because any time. That we set our eyes. Or our expectation. Upon a man. Or upon a ministry. Or upon a method for revival.

We have shut the door. To the king of glory. Revival does not come through a man. God uses men. But revival is the king of glory. Remember it was the image of jealousy. That grieved the heart of God. And caused his glory to depart.

And it is only when this generation. Lifts their heads and fixes their eyes. On the author and finisher of their faith. The king of glory Jesus Christ. It is only then. That we have opened the door. For the king of glory to come in.

Remember. In the gospels. In Matthew chapter 17. The Lord Jesus took three men. Peter, James and John. Up on top of a mountain. And when they got up on top of the mountain. The Lord Jesus was transfigured before their very eyes.

And his clothes became white as the light. His face shone brighter than the sun. They saw the glory of God. They saw the glory of God. But they took it for granted. They also saw two men. Moses and Elijah.

And Peter. Opening his mouth. I'm sure before he thought. Because surely he had no clue. What he was about to say. He said. Lord it's good for us to be here. Moses is here. Elijah is here. You're here.

Let's build three tabernacles. One for Moses. One for Elijah. And one for you. Not knowing that he was putting. Moses and Elijah on the same level. As the Lord Jesus himself. And dear friends. When you do that.

You have sinned. We have sinned against God. When we esteem or exalt a man. And say. It's good to be here. So and so is here. So and so is here. Oh and Jesus you're here. It's not about so and so. It's about the king of glory.

And that's why God almighty. Rebuked Peter from heaven. When he said. Lord it's good to be here. Let's build three tabernacles. One for you. One for Moses. And one for Elijah. Suddenly a cloud enveloped them.

And almighty God thundered from heaven. And said. This is my son. Whom I love. Whom I'm well pleased. Listen to him. This is my son Peter. Don't you dare. Put anyone or anything on the same level. As my son.

This is my son. This is the king of glory. Let us fix our eyes. Only upon him. Let us worship and adore. Only him. Let us give glory and honor. Only to him. Lift up your heads. Oh you gates. Lift up your heads.

Oh you gates. Lift up your eyes. And look to Jesus alone. He is the king of glory. It's all about him. It's one thing to say. Oh yes it's all about Jesus. It's a whole other thing for your life. And your actions to declare that.

That yes he is the reason I live. He is the reason I breathe. He is the reason I preach. He is everything to me. He is the lover of my soul. It is truly all about him. All about the king of glory. Everything was created by him.

By him all things consist. All of scripture points to him. All the true prophets prophesied of him. All the apostles preached him. And all of heaven worships only him. Oh that the church and all the church would only glorify him.

And only him. The king of glory. And because Jesus is the king of glory. He must have the preeminence in all things. Which means every idol must be smashed. Must be torn down. Because when the king of glory comes to enter our hearts.

He doesn't come to take a back seat. He doesn't come to share our heart with other loves and affections. It's all of your heart or none of it with Jesus. All or none. If he is not lord of all. He is not lord at all.

The Idol of Self Must Be Smashed

Anything else is idolatry. And just as it was idolatry that caused the glory of God to depart from Israel. So it is idolatry that will cause the glory of God to depart from you and I. And before we would ever say well thank you Lord that I'm not an idolater.

I don't worship idols. Brothers and sisters can I share with you. There's an idol in the heart of many of God's people. That God has convicted me of time and time again. It's an idol that sits enthroned in the heart of so many of God's people.

That maybe we're unaware of. It's this idol called self. The self life. Self longs for recognition. Self longs to demand its own way and have its own rights and have control. It's the big I that gets in the way.

Did you know. That the only difference between Ichabod. Which means the glory has departed. And Chabad which is the glory of God. Is the I that stands in the way. The I that comes first. And when I come first.

The glory of God has to depart. When the king of glory comes in. Self. This idol of self has to be smashed. It has to die. Off of the throne of my heart. Self life. Out with the idolatry. Welcome king of glory.

That's what the Lord is waiting for. This idol of self has to be smashed. Paul said what. Do you not know. That your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost. Which is in you. Which you have of God. And you are not your own.

You've been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God with your body and with your spirit. Which belong to God. At first became so very real to me about. Three years ago. I've been pastoring a church for about five years.

And I left the church with a proud bitter heart. I didn't know how bitter I was. I didn't know how proud I was. I left. Stepped out of the pastorate. Out of the ministry. I was running like Jonah. I had in mind that I would be starting a street ministry.

And planning a church out of our home. But none of that works when your heart is not right. When your heart. When self is still enthroned. And when your heart is full of bitterness and pride. And I entered into the darkest year of my entire life.

A year that I would never, ever, ever want to relive again. And that year ended. See, I had made a vow. To people and to God. That I would never, ever again pastor another church. That I was done. And specifically I would never, ever again pastor another Baptist church.

And I walked away. And God began to break me. A whole year. Of brokenness. God, there's nothing I love to do more than preach. And in a whole year I preached two times. And one of those times was without the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

And it scared me to death. And to put food on the table. I lived up in the mountains. I was a fur trapper. And my little boy Luke and I were running the trap line one cold winter day. He was about ten years old at the time.

And we were going down a canyon road. An icy road. And my pickup truck slid off the icy road. And onto an iced over river. And it fell through the ice. And under we went. I got him out. We got out. We got on dry land.

Stripped his clothes. We went down slow. So I managed to throw some coveralls out the window. And got him wrapped up. As I was walking away for help. I heard the Lord speak to me as clearly as I've ever heard his voice.

And he said to me, how long? How long will you run? And I fell on my face. And I began to cry out to God. God, I'm a proud man. I'm a bitter man. I'm an arrogant man. God, have mercy upon my soul. And I don't know how long I was there.

But it was a long time. It seemed like. I surrendered all. I said, Lord, I have no other reason to live. But to serve you and for your glory. And I said, wherever you tell me to go, I will go. Whatever you tell me to do, I will do.

Whatever you tell me to say, I will say. It was as if a ton of bricks lifted off of me. I knew I had surrendered all to the Lord. And I stood up. And again, as clear as I've ever heard his voice. He said to me, you are not your own.

You've been bought with a price. Now glorify God with your spirit and your body, which belong to him. And I said, yes, Lord. Does Jesus Christ have the preeminence in our heart? Does he have first and does he have every place?

He's the king of glory. Can he tell you to go wherever he wants you to go and you will go? Can he tell you to do whatever he wants you to do and you will obey? Can he tell you to say whatever he wants you to say and you will say it?

Only then does the king of glory have his rightful place in your heart. Only then is he enthroned as king of glory. He must have the preeminence. Who is this king of glory, the psalmist asked? The Lord, mighty in battle.

The King of Glory Comes to Do Battle

When he comes, he comes to do battle. There's a very real battle going on for the hearts of men. Going on for your heart and mind. Self again seeks to sit enthroned upon your heart. Satan is after the loyalty of your heart.

The world is out to captivate your heart. And she has plenty of idols to do it. But these idols are not just in the world. They also creep into the church. And this is where it can get sticky. Because there can be idols of even icons of past revival.

Names, men, places. Brothers and sisters, remember. Please remember that God will not share his glory with another. The king of glory is the only one who is worthy of glory. When the king of glory comes, it is never ever to glorify a man's ministry or a man.

The Holy Spirit only comes to glorify Christ and him alone. And when the king of glory comes, not only does he come to do battle. But he comes to clean up house. Again, when he comes, it's out with idolatry.

Finished with the world. Goodbye to besetting sin. And it's Lord Jesus, take my heart. It is thine own. It shall be thy royal throne. Take myself and I will be ever only all for thee. Lord Jesus, receive all the glory.

Receive all the honor. Take every fiber of my being and glorify your name. And when that happens, then all the people, all of God's people can sing. All hail the power of Jesus name. Let angels prostrate fall and let everything else prostrate fall.

Bring forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all. Hallelujah. Notice not only does he come to a people. Who lift up their eyes and fix and are looking only to him. But he comes to a people who are expecting him to come.

Notice what he says here in verse 9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors. And the king of glory shall come in. It doesn't say that he might come in. Doesn't say that he could come in.

It says the king of glory shall come in. Have you come saints? I know you have so many. Have you come believing, expecting for God to come. When the king of glory finds those who are seeking his face alone.

With clean hands and pure hearts and sanctified tongues. It's not a question of he might come. He gives us a promise. He shall come. And there is no other way to come praying. But to come believing and expecting that God will keep his word.

And when you come expecting that way. It will change your praying. We end up praying with faith. Knowing the Lord wants to come. The Lord, the king of glory wants to come in. I believe much to a greater degree than we could ever desire.