Toward a Joyful Mood in Prayer

Oftentimes we are gloomy or sad because our prayers are concentrated on God fixing a bad situation. However, there might be times when you feel compelled simply to have joy over what God has done -and the spirit of your praying changes.

Paul expressed this latter feeling in his opening words to the church at Philippi: ⁴⁵ "I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now." (Phil. 1:3)

How often do you pray with this feeling? Is it very seldom? Do you put your prayers into the context of your faith and appreciating others who have come to faith?

Consider reflecting on God's relationship to us in the church through Jesus Christ. We in the church are the body of Christ. We are not alone, but have a source of support and encouragement that comes from other believers. We are also intimately tied into the one who will be with us until the end of time. If we are so connected to Christ and his blessings, need we fear what might come? Need we not trust bringing our prayers before God?

I believe this sense of joy comes from knowing to whom we are directing our prayers. We are not praying to someone who may or may not care for us. Rather, we are praying to God who has our best interests at heart. When we have this knowledge, we can pray in a spirit of joy.