Daily Prayer_March 15, 2011

The Word for wisdom:

Proverbs 15:13 (MSG)
A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.

The Word for inspiration:

Psalm 15:1-2 (HCSB)
¹ Lord, who can dwell in Your tent? Who can live on Your holy mountain? ² The one who lives honestly, practices righteousness, and acknowledges the truth in his heart—

The Word for encouragement:

Romans 15:13 (NLT)
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My observation:

Today we will consider the first of three things that the Apostle Paul prayed for the people in the church at Rome. The source of these things that Paul prayed for is God. The first of the three is joy.

This joy that Paul asked for in his prayer is essential to the spiritual life of the members of the church of every age. It is joy that produces a cheerful heart, and a cheerful heart that produces cheerful behavior. Notice what our featured Proverbs says about the condition of our heart, and how it affects our life. This joy creates in those who have it an inner joy, and gladness of heart. This joy forms a confidence that is unmoved by circumstances. The poet said, "The joy of the Lord is my strength".

Jesus prayed that his followers then and his followers of every age would have this attribute of joy in their life.

John 17:13 (HCSB)
Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them.

My prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I acknowledge you as the source of everything that I need for living and serving you. Father, I come to you in faith, and believing that there is no other source for the things I am asking.

Father God, I am confident that you are able and willing to give your people the joy that Jesus prayed for his followers then and for those who would come after them. Father, fill our hearts with the joy of the Lord.

My song:

Joy (Click on link below to listen to this song by The Georgia Mass Choir):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmvX3YwETdQ&feature=related

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My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily
http://www.herbcotton.org
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Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB)
⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; ⁶ think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.