The J.O.Y. of Prayer
The last words of Nehemiah 8:10 tell us that “the Joy of the Lord” is
our strength. Sometimes it is good to “go back to the basics,” the “A.B.C.’s”
of important Life Principles. When it
comes to Prayer, the “A.B.C.’s” can be spelled “J.O.Y.” meaning “Jesus First,
Others Second, and Yourself last. The
last of theses, ourselves, never seems to be a problem. It is part and parcel of our fallen nature to
be self-centered and, far too often, totally self-absorbed. The real challenge, the call to Christian
maturity, and the true Joy of life is found, however, when we choose to put the
Lord first in all things, and this certainly includes our prayer life, and when
we choose to put others before ourselves.
J.O.Y. – Jesus First
Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33, that we should, in all things, seek God
first –His kingdom and His righteousness, and then all other things we need in
life would be given us. James 1:17
declares that every good and every perfect gift comes to us from the Father of
lights above with whom there is no shadow of turning, for He is utterly
reliable, and it was He that Jesus taught us to honor and worship in what we
now call “the Lord’s Prayer” when He said we were to pray to “Our Father who is
in heaven – Holy is His name!”
O. – Others Second
When we read the instructions Paul gives regarding spiritual warfare in
the passage beginning with Ephesians 6:10 that we are to engage in this warfare
against demonic forces “fully armored.”
He provides a list of our armor from head to toe. Too often people finish reading this list by concluding,
in v. 17b, with “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” But that is definitely not the final
component of our spiritual weaponry.
Paul continues in v. 18 with “praying always with all prayer and supplications
in the Spirit, being watchful to the end with all perseverance and supplication
for all the saints.” Paul then adds a
request that the Ephesian believers also pray for him, placing himself last in
this order of priorities.
That is a beautiful example to and for us, for in so doing, as
“warriors” who are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans
8:37), yes – “overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our
testimony” (Revelation 12:11). Part of
our testimony is woven into and warp and the woof of our prayer life as we
learn to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This lifestyle of praying truly is the J.O.Y.
of the Lord which is our Strength!
Y. Yourself (Myself!)
Last –
Yes, last, but not
least! As a child of God (Romans
8:14-17), we have the true delight of knowing (with confidence!) that our
Father wants to meet our needs.
In the “Disciples’ Prayer” (It has come to be known as “the Lord’s
Prayer.”), Jesus instructs us to ask God for our “daily bread” – our basic
needs. Beyond that, we have the
testimony of the writer of Hebrews that the Father invites to boldly enter into
His Presence – to His “Throne of grace” – that “we may receive mercy and may
find grace to help in time of need” (4:16).
We have the
assurance of Paul that our God will supply “all our needs according to His
riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
And then, beyond our ‘needs’ our Father is one who delights in
providing us with an abundance of “more than enough!” Hallelujah!
James informs us: “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is
from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation, or shadow” (1:17). Lastly, Paul declares that our Father “has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ . . .
according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us” (Ephesians 1:3b, 7b-8a, emphasis added). Hallelujah!
