First United Methodist Church Carrollton

In his book, The Friendship Factor, Alan McGinnis cites an interesting experiment conducted a few years ago in a 2nd grade classroom.  Psychologists observed what happened when the teacher told her students to sit down.  (Hint: it was very little!)  She actually gave the same instruction to sit down an average of 7 times every 20 minutes.  Obviously, it wasn't working so well for her!

For the experiment, the teacher then increased the frequency of her demands.  Not only did it not work, but things got a lot worse.  She got to the point that she was telling the students to sit down 27.5 times every 15 minutes.  Along with the increase in the demand came a significant increase in misbehavior.

The psychologists then asked the teacher to take a whole new tact.  Instead of dealing with the "problem" kids, telling them to get back in their seats, she began affirming and encouraging the students who were already sitting down. 

The results were startling; the children's behavior improved markedly.  Kids who had been rowdy and restless all day now also sat in their seats ... without being told to "sit down!"

Our words are indeed powerful -- not in some magical sense, but the truth is that we tend to get more of the things we focus on.  If our gaze is fixed on the negative, we're likely to get more bad things.  But if we speak and live positively, the tendency is for good things to multiply.

It really has to do with expectations.  When we focus on the negative, it's as if we expect bad things to be overwhelming us.  But when we focus on the positive, we seem to unleash the good.

I think that also applies to prayer.  When you pray for your "problem child," you aren't likely to discover much beyond the problems.  But when your prayers center on your faithful God and the transformation He has promised to make in human hearts, your faith unleashes God's power.

The power of expectations -- just another way to talk about faith.

What do you expect today ... at work ... in your family ... within your church?  Center on God's power and you're more likely to discover God's goodness infusing your life.