31 Prayers for Refreshing Daily Joy

A couple of years ago, a friend I knew from the online writing community reached out and invited me to a phone interview.  We both write about encountering God in ordinary places, and it seemed like a great fit!  Little Aiden was three months old at the time, and I happened to schedule the phone interview for the same day I was trying to sleep-train my little buddy.

As my friend Emily Saxe interviewed me, I was overwhelmed with stress as I listened to my baby boy wail in his crib.  I’m not sure I offered one cohesive thought that afternoon!  But Emily was full of grace, and she managed to make sense of at least a few of my stuttered words.  She was also filled with compassion as I explained my anxiety over the screaming baby!

It’s an honor to welcome Emily (as well as another writing friend, Sheryl Aeschliman) as they share encouragement about finding refreshing daily joy and offer you their new prayer guide today.  Here is Emily:

An Invitation to Refreshing Daily Joy:

It honestly doesn’t matter what year you find yourself reading this. Sin runs rampant and has been doing an awfully good job of stealing something it has no right to steal: joy.

In thinking about a topic for a new devotional, I chatted with my good friend Sheryl Aeschliman of Simply Scripture. We both came to our meeting prepared with ideas for a devotional. One topic appeared on both our lists. Joy.

How dearly our souls need refreshed in the joy of the Lord! Working in ministry with women, it is abundantly clear how the utter craziness of this world has ripped joy from the souls of followers of Jesus.

Friend, this should not be. No power on this Earth holds authority to take away a soul-gift. Unless, that is, we allow it.

Have you allowed your life circumstances to steal your joy? Have you succumbed to the evil all around us and fallen prey to the enemy’s lies that it’s simply not possible to cling to joy?

Have you found yourself wondering how on this sin-stained Earth could James have written the words, “Count it all joy” (James 1:2)?

Continue reading and check out this guide for deeper joy right here!