diff --git a/test/functional/test_framework/test_node.py b/test/functional/test_framework/test_node.py
--- a/test/functional/test_framework/test_node.py
+++ b/test/functional/test_framework/test_node.py
@@ -355,6 +355,8 @@
 
     @contextlib.contextmanager
     def assert_debug_log(self, expected_msgs, unexpected_msgs=None, timeout=2):
+        if not expected_msgs:
+            raise AssertionError("Expected debug messages is empty")
         if unexpected_msgs is None:
             unexpected_msgs = []
         time_end = time.time() + timeout