With what would you be praying if not with joy? Well, on the surface it may seem like the answer would be praying with gloom or perhaps praying with sadness or despondency. This may well lead to another question: Wouldn’t the praying itself lead you to joyfulness, if one is praying in a joyless state? Certainly, you would hope, even expect so. However, you may choose not to pray with joy. How?
Praying without joy
When you pray out of a sense of obligation you do not pray with joy. Prayer then is this thing to get over and be done with. It’s a case of show up because you must, say whatever it is you feel you should say, pray for whomever you have on your list, and that’s it. There is no joy in that type of praying. I know. I’ve been there.
There’s another thing that happens when you pray out of a sense of obligation. Resentment seeps in. You find that you do not pray with joy. Instead, you pray grudgingly because of the interruption prayer brings. You know you should pray at whatever time it is you’ve set aside, but you don’t really want to. You have other things you would rather be doing. These things may even seem more important than prayer at that point in time. Yet, you know that you have to pray. Thus, you exchange joy for disgruntlement in your praying.
At least you’re praying, even if you do not pray with joy. There is the possibility of the light breaking through as you pray.
The worst case scenario is when you use every excuse possible to avoid praying because your resentment at the sense of obligation to pray is so great. That’s like exchanging life for things that seem to give life.
To pray with joy
To pray with joy you have to want to be in that prayer time. You show up with anticipation of what God is going to do and say. Even if you’re in a rough patch, you’re anxious to meet with God, the source of all life. This, therefore, points to a relationship with God in which you have opened your heart to receive God’s love and are returning it to God. Then, joyfully anticipating prayer is a no brainer.
If and when you pray, do you pray with joy? If not, it’s time to take another look at the quality of your relationship with God, wouldn’t you say?
Experience God more fully through honest, surrendered, heart praying and live with greater clarity and peace.
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