Pray about what they’re hoping. This is
different from praying for the thing they want.
It is different from praying for their hope. It’s a sort of combination of all of it and
an openness to God using you to reveal something about how they should
hope.
Help them to remember that God really is good:
Remind them
of precepts from Scripture. (Every good
gift is from above.)
Testify of
your personal experience.
Ask them or
remind them about their personal past experiences.
Speak of general
human experience, like the rain falling on the just and the unjust.
Use specific
examples of God’s goodness from the Bible or other history.
Help them to stay humble about what they deserve. Basically, as sinful humans saved by grace, we don't really deserve anything. Because of God's mercy we are not consumed. Jesus gave His perfect life for us. Anything extra is a major bonus. Hope does really well when we remember to hope for the glory of God; that's something we can always rejoice in.
Tell them true things.
Hope is based on truth. You can
speak truth against lies or just talk about the ordinary true things that come
to your attention, like the color of the cup in their hand.
Pray with them for their spirit and emotions. Praying together is pretty incredible in too
many ways to describe here. I highly
recommend you try it.
Encourage them to do what is always right: speaking well of
God, giving God their desires, loving their neighbor, being grateful…
Support them in decisions based in faith – even if
circumstances don’t seem favorable. Many
people around them will be reminding them of worldly wisdom. Living in hope includes a confidence in a
fact many people leave out: God is real.
Cheer for them when they include God in their decision-making.
Remind them of the spiritual reality of God’s work in them,
in your relationship, in the world. Even
when we can’t see things, God is active.
He is able to change hearts. He
uses us in each other’s lives to build each other up. Speak of how you have seen God working, or
even just how you believe He is working.
Don’t discourage doubt that could be reconsideration or
correction from God – but make sure that even the reconsideration is in faith
and based in God’s truth more than in their strength or understanding. This is a tricky one. I believe that hope is surrendered to God,
leaving the rights in God’s hand to give us something else or correct us for
wrong desires. It’s important to not get
too cocky.
Talk to them about what they’re believing and hoping and
what doubts they’re having – especially listen to them.
Promise to be there to rejoice or weep when the outcome is
made known. Hope can feel really
lonely. Let them experience your love.
Remind them what the Bible teaches about prayer. For example, we know that when we ask according to God's will, He hears us. We know Jesus taught His disciples to keep praying and not give up. We know that an ordinary man like Elijah prayed for a drought and it didn't rain for over three years. But be personal. Tell them things you each have learned about prayer from the Bible but accompanied by relevant experience.
Remind them that regardless of the outcome, the investment
of prayer and faith is not wasted. God
is with us, as we wait on Him. No time
spent talking to God, yielding to Him, doing His will – is wasted, even if we
don’t get what we thought we were “earning”.
(Hope isn’t about earning.) But
it is worth the struggle, the pain, the work, the time. God brings forth fruit in our lives when we
walk with Him. That’s an exciting
thing.
