Joy! Prayer accompanied with joy brings a deep delight in knowing that the Lord is working on our behalf. We can be absolutely confident that God is working in our lives and because of His great grace, God will complete the work in us!
But what about JOY? It is an integral aspect of our salvation in Christ. This kind of joy is an inner peace and delight in God that cannot be stolen from us due to the various circumstances in our lives. JOY flows from the fruit of the Spirit being developed in us. Yes, just like a fruit tree that needs time to bring forth the fruit it was designed to bring forth, so the Lord works in each of us to help us bloom and have fruit in our lives that bring glory and praise to God!
Paul's prayer asks that love may abound--but how is this love to do that? It is through gaining more and more knowledge of God's Word and His ways. As we grow in this, so grows our discernment and our greater desire to pursue excellence in our lives.
May each of us today desire the fullness of the fruit of the Spirit--joy, in our lives! If we do, we will look at the circumstances in our lives differently with the full confidence of knowing that we can trust the work the Lord is doing in and through us!