Reinhard
2 That Your Joy May Be Full
God's will is that our joy be full! We can have great joy seeing God answer our prayers.
John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
One of the simplest ways to see the joy of answered prayer is to pray for opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. There are many people who are ready to hear and to receive the Good News. When we pray and then share the gospel, it is a joy to see people choose to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives. There is rejoicing in heaven when a sinner repents.
Luke 15:7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
The Bible speaks much about joy. Brief mention will be made of other aspects of joy.
We have great joy when our sins are forgiven and we have eternal life. We are on our way to heaven with Jesus our great Shepherd leading all the way.
We can choose to rejoice in the Lord. The Bible says to ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!’ Rejoicing is a step of faith. We praise and worship God in prayer, song and in word. We magnify how great God is. We put our eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.
As we offer to God the sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips, we increase our joy in the Holy Spirit.
Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
There is a joy and gladness that comes when we stay away from sin. We thank God for giving us the strength to say no to sin and yes to God. As we abide in Jesus, there is fullness of joy and peace. Away from our great Shepherd, there is uneasiness and trouble.
Heb 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
When we pray and see God answer, there is rejoicing! We can even praise God in advance for answered prayer!
In Luke 15, we see three examples of rejoicing when something lost is found again. The woman who had lost a possession rejoiced when she found it again. The shepherd rejoiced when his lost sheep was found. And the father of the prodigal rejoiced at his homecoming.
In the same context, if we lose something, we can pray that we either are led to what is sought or that by God’s providence what is lost finds it's way back.
Several years ago, I lost a valuable Bible when I momentarily laid it down. When I came back to it, my Bible was gone and another in its place. I turned in the one Bible to the ‘lost and found’ department and called several times in the following weeks to see if mine had been turned in. Then about three weeks later, I went to the same church with a friend. Instead of sitting where I usually did, I moved to another area at the request of my friend. During the song service, I leaned over and saw my missing Bible in the row in front of me. It turned out that an older gentleman had picked up the Bible and then wondered who it belonged to. I was glad to get it back. To me, it showed in a small way how much God cares about the details of our lives.
John 16:23-24 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
We can be specific in our requests to our Heavenly Father, praying in the Name of Jesus. We can see specific answers to our prayers.
Once, while sharing the gospel, I made this proposal to a person. I said, if you will give your life to God, then He has promised to answer your prayers. The person became a Christian. And God stands behind his Word to do His part.
While there is joy in seeing God’s material provision in answer to believing prayer, we can pray for much more important things.
We can pray for the lost to have their spiritual eyes opened to the gospel. We can pray that laborers would be sent to them.
We can pray that pastors, ministers and missionaries would be protected and have the freedom to share the gospel. We can pray that doors would be opened for ministers to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Col 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
We can pray for peace and for wars to cease. There is great rejoicing when the enemy flees.
We can pray for specific wars to stop. God can turn the hearts of kings!
Ps 46:9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
We can pray about our problems according to Phil 4:6-7. We can refuse to worry about specific matters. Instead, we cast our cares upon Him. We can thank God for answering our prayers in advance of them being answered.
Phil 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
We cast our cares upon the Lord Jesus Christ in thought and word. He is our Great Shepherd!
1 Pet 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
We can come boldly to the throne of grace. We can receive God’s help in the problems that we may be facing.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
We trust God to help us in every area of our lives!
Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
God has given us clear promises that if we will be persistent in prayer, the answer will come.
Matt 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Sadly, there are some who think that God is arbitrary in answering prayers. Or that a prayer delay is somehow meant to teach us a lesson. Yet, if we will study God’s Word, we can learn why believing prayer is answered and why other prayers fail.
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
This promise in John 15 is clear in its condition. There aren’t additional conditions added at the whim of our Heavenly Father. We can simply abide in the Lord Jesus Christ by being a Christian and obeying Him. We can purpose to let God’s Word abide in us. Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. That is to say, its not a heavy burden living as a Christian. Instead, it’s a joy and can become even more joyful all the time!
I Jn 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
God has promised to answer us! God can give us understanding, knowledge and wisdom in small and great matters.
Jer 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
God can do more in a moment than we could ask or think!
Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
God is a good God. We can always trust Him to be faithful to His Word.
Matt 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10-11 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged and admonished to not be afraid. Greater is he that is within us, than he that is in the world.
Luke 1:13-14 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
We purpose to be pure in our hearts. While we want to use of all of God’s provisions, we must examine that we aren’t being selfish or lustful in our requests.
James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
We ask God to search us and cleanse us of habitual sin (iniquity). We say no to sin and yes to God.
Ps 66:18-20 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.