5 Uplifting Prayers for Joy and Peace
The box elder by the creek adorns herself in summer vestments before her taller cousins. I rest in her shade while the little one collects the wispy seedlings and sends them racing down the river. As I watch him play, I talk to God, praying through a series of prayers for joy and peace.
Prayers for Joy and Peace
I’ve been on a journey of slowing down to be more engaged in the quiet moments of our days.
The following prayers flow from me as I watch the clear water flow past, cleansing the sandstone and washing away my cares in the process.
If praying for joy and peace sounds inviting, here are five uplifting prayers for joy and peace.
5 Uplifting Prayers for Joy and Peace
1. Pray that God’s joy will become your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10 teaches us that God’s joy is our strength. We grow in joy, peace, and strength by experiencing the joy that is found in God alone.
Here is a prayer to pray: “Lord God, thank you that when I draw near to you, you draw near to me. I know that when I experience the joy you find in my presence, I will be filled with joy and strength as well. I open my heart to receive this joy today. Thank you for filling my heart.”
2. Pray that your joy will flow from your connection with God.
As we grow closer to God, our joy increases.
Joy is listed as a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. As Jesus shared in John 15, we bear fruit by staying closely connected to him in an intimate relationship.
Pray that your relationship with God will be strong and close, and joy will be a natural fruit of your relationship.
Here is a prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your desire to be close to me. I find it amazing that the Creator of the universe wants an intimate relationship with me. Please show me how to draw closer to you. In the process, I pray that I will bear the fruit of the Spirit more abundantly, including the fruit of joy.”
3. Pray that you will learn to be joyful regardless of your circumstances.
Joyful circumstances are gifts. Yet, even when our circumstances are difficult, we can find unshakeable joy when our joy is founded in God.
God is always with us, which means his joy is always available to us. In even the most troubling circumstances, the peace and joy of Christ can rule in our hearts.
Here is a prayer: “Father God, thank you for being the perfect example of joy and peace. I want to learn to live with joy in life’s good times and troubling times. Please help me consider everything else in my life as unimportant compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing you more intimately. Help my joy to flow from my connection with you.”
4. Pray that the joy of the Lord will reign in your heart.
We all face many emotions throughout an average day.
Ask God to renew your mind and shape your heart so that joy is the prominent emotion in your life.
Here is a prayer: “Lord God, thank you for creating emotions. Please help me learn to navigate my emotions in a way that brings you glory. I want to become a more joyful person. Please fill me with your joy as I seek your face and live in gratitude for your goodness.”
5. Pray that others will be drawn to God through your joy.
Joy is not to be an end in itself.
God wants to fill us with joy so that our contagious joy leads others to him.
Here is a prayer for contagious joy: “God, thank you for being a joyful Father. Please fill me with your joy so that others might be drawn to you through the unexplainable joy they see in me.”
Let’s Apply These Prayers for Joy and Peace to Our Everyday Moments
If these prayers for joy have blessed you, I invite you to join me on a walk down our country road as God taught me a simple way to increase joy.
I reach into my pocket for a tissue and pull out a handful of wilted yellow flowers. They’re coltsfoot blossoms—a gift from my son on a warm spring afternoon. We went to the woods because I’ve been learning how to find joy in Jesus even in the dark seasons of life.
Today, my pursuit has led me into open skies.
Withering and wilted, the tiny flowers look pathetic in my pocket, and I make sure he doesn’t see me slip them into the garbage can. But before I can release the crumpled symbols of his love for me, something stops me.
I examine them closely and feel led to walk to the china cabinet in search of a suitable vase. Throwing them into the garbage can simply isn’t an option today. Someday I’ll confess to my children that I’ve quietly discarded art projects, spelling tests, and pet rocks, but for today, I’m keeping the flowers.
Practical Ways to Increase Your Joy
Staring at the pathetic vase on the dining room table, the flowers from my pocket remind me of several important lessons about how to find joy.
Perhaps you need these reminders, too.
Here are some practical ways to have more joy in Jesus today, even if you are struggling in life:
1. Expand your joy by keeping your eyes open for small miracles.
For close to 30 years, I quit noticing coltsfoot flowers along the roadside.
I quit appreciating the first color to burst forth from the bleak winter landscape.
For a long decade, I became so focused on my career, my goals, and my schedule that I overlooked the thousands of tiny miracles in my midst. I stopped catching snowflakes on my tongue, smelling roses, and making wildflower bouquets.
Sometimes the most powerful way to cultivate joy in a dark season is to open your eyes to the small miracles all around you. #smallmiracles #livingpresent #chasingjoy Share on XI’m thankful for the students and children who have reminded me what it means to appreciate the small miracles around me.
Geese overhead bring awe.
Freshly fallen snow on a winter morning is a reason to cheer.
Sunsets warrant cessation of all activity.
I’m slowly becoming less focused on the tasks of the day and growing in gratitude for the small miracles all around.
2. Find joy by treasuring what others might discard.
There’s a beautiful housing development about a half-mile from our house.
We live on the outskirts of the development, literally the last house between town and the endless fields of rural farm country. The houses in the development manage to completely eradicate small yellow flowers from their lawns with chemicals and special treatments.
Meanwhile, my son refuses to walk past a colorful flower without picking it for me.
It’s a battle to keep daffodils in our landscaping because he insists on bringing them inside for his mom. Not a dandelion endures the onslaught of his voracious desire for more treasures.
He reminds me that embracing the imperfection of a flower-spotted yard might just be a gateway to greater joy. Similarly, embracing the imperfection of a less-than-perfect life might just free me to live more abundantly.
3. Remind yourself that seasons pass, even the darkest seasons.
The coltsfoot plants emerge on the cusp of spring. The days are just starting to linger longer. Raging blizzards have mostly passed, and warm sunny days alternate with blustery days of flurries and winter hats.
The coltsfoot reminds me that the darkness of winter really will end, and warm days of basking in the sun await.
The dark seasons of our lives generally don’t last forever either.
Even for those of us who endure darkness and trouble throughout much of our lives on earth, there is a greater promise awaiting.
There is a promise of life without tears, pain, or suffering. I’m quite certain it will also be a life of rolling hills of coltsfoot and glistening yards of dandelions. This darkness won’t last forever.
Read here for five uplifting prayers for joy and tips on how to have more joy in the Lord. #joy #joyinJesus Share on XA Free Devotional Book for Deeper Joy
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Attention, all moms and daughters!
Lastly, in addition to writing to adults, I am also passionate about ministering to the next generation.
My 12-year-old daughter Bekah and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book together. We hope to help moms and daughters connect and grow in faith together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section.
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