A Prayer Requesting Joy
“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
This verse doesn’t say, “Be full of joy when you feel like it.” It doesn’t say, “Be full of joy when things are going your way.” Being joyful is the fruit of one who is obedient to God—no matter what difficulties may come.
Listen to the heart of Job in Job 5:17, “But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.”
Let those words soak in for a while. Read the Book of Job. Job certainly knew an abundance of emotional distress. Yet, he also knew the character of his loving, Heavenly Father. Job had a deep, personal relationship with Him.
You may well be able to relate to Job. Think about the words in that verse again. God, as any good father, loves us so much that he corrects us. He lovingly guides us in the way that we should go.
David prayed in Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” David understood what real joy was all about. He was a man after God’s own heart. You can experience real joy, too.
Our Father in Heaven,
We take joy in You. We take joy in Your correction! (Job 5:17)
We thank You for loving us enough to turn us toward You. When we ponder our many blessings, we are overwhelmed with gratitude and joy, Father.
We shout joyfully to You, the rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1)!
May we come with joy and drink deeply from your fountain of salvation (Isaiah 12:3)!
Lord, we thank You that Your Word promises that if we search for You we will be filled with joy and gladness. Hallelujah, Father, we praise You!
For we know, Father, that this light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).
We ask that You would restore to us the joy of Your salvation (Psalm 51:12).
In Your precious, holy name we pray.
AMEN.
This verse doesn’t say, “Be full of joy when you feel like it.” It doesn’t say, “Be full of joy when things are going your way.” Being joyful is the fruit of one who is obedient to God—no matter what difficulties may come.
Listen to the heart of Job in Job 5:17, “But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.”
Let those words soak in for a while. Read the Book of Job. Job certainly knew an abundance of emotional distress. Yet, he also knew the character of his loving, Heavenly Father. Job had a deep, personal relationship with Him.
You may well be able to relate to Job. Think about the words in that verse again. God, as any good father, loves us so much that he corrects us. He lovingly guides us in the way that we should go.
David prayed in Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” David understood what real joy was all about. He was a man after God’s own heart. You can experience real joy, too.
Our Father in Heaven,
We take joy in You. We take joy in Your correction! (Job 5:17)
We thank You for loving us enough to turn us toward You. When we ponder our many blessings, we are overwhelmed with gratitude and joy, Father.
We shout joyfully to You, the rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1)!
May we come with joy and drink deeply from your fountain of salvation (Isaiah 12:3)!
Lord, we thank You that Your Word promises that if we search for You we will be filled with joy and gladness. Hallelujah, Father, we praise You!
For we know, Father, that this light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).
We ask that You would restore to us the joy of Your salvation (Psalm 51:12).
In Your precious, holy name we pray.
AMEN.
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