Prayer Ministry – Joy Development Is An Important Foundation to Living As an Overcomer

Introduction
Prayer Ministry Joy Development gives us a foundation for life to live restfully from love rather than striving from a base of shame wherein mistakes and corrections are not tolerable. Our family life, our work projects and relationships, school and studying, learning new skills, can all be done joyfully rather than dreadfully with the right foundation.

Shame
Consider George. He went to a conference and learned about the power of combining fasting with waiting in God’s presence. The promises given were many, everything from intimacy with God to greater rest in the midst of circumstances to greater discipline to accomplish. George set out with great “intensity” to fast and wait on God, dreaming of finally feeling successful. When his wife didn’t share his enthusiasm, he was disappointed and became short with her. His fervor faltered and a fear of failure extinguished his determination to be spiritually significant. George ended up feeling defeated and condemned.

When we set out with a vision for something with “intensity,” that usually means we are trying to be good enough to be loved and acceptable.

Love
Consider a loving father’s joy on the day his child is born. The child has yet to accomplish a single thing and yet there’s a joyful rejoicing and elation just because the child is there. Experientially knowing that God has deep joy over you just because you exist is an important aspect of experiencing His love for you and coming into rest and living from a place of joy.

1 John 4:18 indicates to us that fear is the absence of love. Joy expresses the opposite of this in a deep way. If God feels joy over me then my making a mistake and getting berated is not a part of the equation.

Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. God exults over you, He is at rest in His love toward you, your mistakes don’t rattle Him. He is so excited about you He shouts for joy!

Conclusion
Living from a base of love takes away our striving and fear of failure. It empowers us to face the vulnerability of learning – even with all the setbacks that are an inevitable part of the process – with joy rather than frustration.