Matthew Henry speaks of this "As holy joy is the heart and soul of thankful praise, so thankful praise is the lip and language of holy joy."
This speaks to me so clearly. As I sometimes pray I realize the heart of my prayers and wonder, "Is God listening to this request" I even ask myself often times "Are my motives truly pure?" Is my soul giving thankful praise? Or do I simply follow the guidelines of "effective prayer"? Do I have holy joy when praying for another?... "holy joy is the heart and soul of thankful praise" How powerful those words! Paul while praying for the churches did so with joy. He rejoiced to the Lord for all people. To truly have joyful prayers at all seems so simple but to consider the word "rejoice", I begin to realize the joyfulness that Paul must have had just to simply pray at all! How many times do we dread the thought of prayer, to have to find the extra time to sit and be in communion with our Lord and Savior, the Creator of the Universe. And when we do begin how often do we rush to finish. Does it become a chore? Do we simply check PRAY off our "to do" list'. And when we ask God, "How can I glorify you today?" is our heart really ready to receive what He wants to speak to us? Do we not all seek to be so at one with the will of God that we can rejoice with joy regardless of what His will is? And, if we could see His will before us and be given the opportunity to change it, would we? Do we rejoice in the joy of His awesome plan for our life?
Lord I just ask you today to give me a pure heart. Give me the desires to pray joyfully! To rejoice with you Lord that I am able to have this communion with you. That You Lord God have given me direct access to You, my Holy God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth! Today Lord, I rejoice that I am yours! And that you God hear the prayers of a righteous man! I rejoice in the knowledge that YOU have a plan for my life and in you I can take rest!
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