Rejoice and Be Glad
Do you want to increase the joy and gladness in your life?
Are you tired of being discouraged and depressed?
I know we often over promise and under deliver, but God has made a way for us to rejoice and be glad. God is wise and knows how to help us in our troubles. God is good and does not just wait for us to discover Him, but seeks us out. God is a Shepherd leading and seeking. I hope God is using me to find some people looking for help in gladness!
I have been working on a thirty day plan to increase joy or gratitude in my life. Right now I am compiling a booklet to help others try what I have tried. But I wanted to get this simple prayer plan out there for those who might be looking for some prayer help this Thanksgiving season. This plan will be one of the extras that I include in the booklet.
You can go to Slide Share and download a PDF copy or you can copy and paste from here. The Slide Share version is better if you want to use it as a handout.
I have also just republished How to Pray by R A Torrey. In this new edition I have added reflections and activities to help people in their spiritual formation. I am also working on a Ebook edition so let me know and I will let you know when that is in publication.
Prayer is serious business.
Prayer is also foundational to joy, gladness, celebration and enjoying life in
general. Those who pray much should also be enjoyable to be around, full of
hope and rejoicing in what God has done. Sadly, much of our prayer time is
focused on fixing problems or interceding for the never ending needs of our
world. Prayer can turn into a time of endless burden bearing and refreshing,
joy and gladness can flee away. Sure, life is not all about being happy, but
some of it is. Even some of our prayer times should center on delighting ourselves
in God.
Are you tired of being discouraged and depressed?
I know we often over promise and under deliver, but God has made a way for us to rejoice and be glad. God is wise and knows how to help us in our troubles. God is good and does not just wait for us to discover Him, but seeks us out. God is a Shepherd leading and seeking. I hope God is using me to find some people looking for help in gladness!
I have been working on a thirty day plan to increase joy or gratitude in my life. Right now I am compiling a booklet to help others try what I have tried. But I wanted to get this simple prayer plan out there for those who might be looking for some prayer help this Thanksgiving season. This plan will be one of the extras that I include in the booklet.
You can go to Slide Share and download a PDF copy or you can copy and paste from here. The Slide Share version is better if you want to use it as a handout.
I have also just republished How to Pray by R A Torrey. In this new edition I have added reflections and activities to help people in their spiritual formation. I am also working on a Ebook edition so let me know and I will let you know when that is in publication.
Prayer is serious business.
Prayer is also foundational to joy, gladness, celebration and enjoying life in
general. Those who pray much should also be enjoyable to be around, full of
hope and rejoicing in what God has done. Sadly, much of our prayer time is
focused on fixing problems or interceding for the never ending needs of our
world. Prayer can turn into a time of endless burden bearing and refreshing,
joy and gladness can flee away. Sure, life is not all about being happy, but
some of it is. Even some of our prayer times should center on delighting ourselves
in God.
The following prayer plan is
focused on gladness. Strangely, in God’s agenda, gladness is discovered through
the realization of what sin does and the blessings that forgiveness brings. In
just a short while from now, your gladness can increase and the weight of this
world can be reduced off your shoulders. God has grace for you. Grace to give
you hope and encourage your spirit, to break the power of past failures. Your
soul can be renewed as you wait on God and ponder what He has done for you.
How To
As you go through the following
passages of Scripture and reflections spend time where you feel the Holy Spirit
is connecting you with the Father. If an exercise does not help you connect, just
more on to the next one. The goal is not the finish, but to fellowship with God
and have gladness arise in our soul.
Prayer is conversation and communion
with God. So use the Scriptures to talk with God. Seek God’s perspective and
insights. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Be patient with yourself and God, allowing
time for the conversation to unfold.
Special Note to those whose life is hard.
Sometimes life is hard, and we
just don’t have the energy to invest in pressing into God. The power of pain
and anxiety can distract us, rob us of the hope of ever encountering the Lord. Prolonged
pain can embitter our soul, causing anger toward God for allowing or not
removing our pain. If you are in that place do not despair. Instead, just focus
on the first verse. Read and recite these twelve words as you rest in the Lord.
Even if you are depressed or defeated, simply give your weakness to God and
position yourself in His hands as you offer back to God His words on blessings
and forgiveness.
Focus 1
(1) How blessed is he whose transgression is
forgiven, Whose sin is covered! (2) How
blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose
spirit there is no deceit! (3) When I
kept silent about my sin, my body wasted
away Through my groaning all day long. (4) For day
and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
·
Words to Ponder
o
Blessed
o
Forgiven
·
What happens when you confess and turn from your
sin?
·
What happens when you hold onto your sin,
forgetting about it or trying to deal with it by neglect?
·
Why does God seek to remove sin from our lives?
What is God seeking to do by having us live forgiven lives?
Focus 2
(5) I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity
I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the
LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
·
Words to Ponder
o
Acknowledge
o
Confess
o
Guilt
·
Make a list of specific sins you would desire for
God to remove from your life. Now ask God to forgive you and acknowledge His
loving kindness to you expressed in forgiveness.
·
What sins and guilt are you glad to get rid of?
Focus 3
(6) Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to
You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they
will not reach him. (7) You are my
hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of
deliverance. Selah.
·
Ponder the idea that a time may come when you are
in need of God and yet God is not to be found.
o
Do you tend to neglect God until you need Him?
o
Do you value what God offers you today or do you
assume it will always be there?
o
How can you rejoice today because today you are
able to find the Lord, forgiveness and the removal of guilt?
·
Are you glad that God has made a way for you to
talk to Him, to have fellowship and conversations with Him?
·
In Scripture, “waters” is an image of people of
humanity at times. How would a flood of people, the demands and issues of
people keep you from reaching the Lord?
Focus 4
(8) I will instruct you and teach you in the way
which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. (9) Do not be as the horse or as the mule which
have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in
check, Otherwise they will not come near
to you. (10) Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he
who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him. (11) Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you
righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.
·
The bit and bridle control by controlling the
mouth. In what ways does our mouth, what we say, affect our gladness? How do
your words keep you away from God?
·
Compare and contrast the rewards and the sorrows
of those who live life the way God intends.
·
How does God instruct and teach you?
·
Lovingkindness surrounds you. Instead of
darkness, troubles and fear,, lovingkindness is what every believer is surrounded
by. Is that your world view? Should it be?
·
How has this season of prayer and scripture
helped you rediscover joy, gladness and delight in what God provides for you
today?
Additional Exercises
1.
Take the words “blessed” and “forgiven” and make
a list of words describing each word. IE:
B = belong to God, L = loved, E = empowered by His spirit, S = Sacrificed
Himself for me, S = Suffered for me, D = Delivers me from all evil.
2.
Go back over the Psalm and write a short phrase
or prayer that summarizes each section. When you are done you will have four
short prayers that can help you live a life of gladness.
3.
Go back through the Psalm and pick out the
phrases that specifically call you to joy, gladness and rejoicing. Summarize or
rewrite these statements so that you can easily hold them in your mind.
4.
Make a list of all the things you enjoy because
you are forgiven.
5.
God is our hiding place and preserves us in times
of trouble. How do you hide in the Lord? Are you aware of how you hide in God
and how would you describe that to others to help them find shelter in God
also? In what ways does God preserve you? How has God taken you through,
around, and over situations? How does God preserve you in the midst of
situations?
6.
Use the Psalm as a songbook but you must create
the tune or music yourself. Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing with thanksgiving
and joy. Celebrate what God has done for you.
7.
Make a list of questions that are answered in
this Psalm. Questions like “who is blessed by the Lord” and “what does
unconfessed sin do to your body?” This list is a simple way to ponder God’s
truth and provision.
8.
Go through the Psalm and choose several words
that impact you from this passage. Write one word on a different sticky note or
note paper and post them around your home or office for a week. When you see
the note take a moment and be glad for what God has done.
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