Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.

Psalm 51:12a

Lord God,

Your Word shows us that we can always have joy in You, no matter our earthly circumstances. Joy is not the same thing as happiness, because joy comes from knowing You and being secure in the knowledge of our salvation. Your Word even encourages us to “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). Your apostles exhibited this internal joy after they were beaten for Your sake, and they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Your name (Acts 5:41). Give us this perspective, Lord. Our human minds are so focused upon daily and earthly matters that we often fail to see the bigger picture. We get easily frustrated and stressed out, and forget that no matter our earthly situation, we have joy in You. Let us look to Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Lord, we are Your joy! We are the reason You endured the cross and its shame. There is no better news than that! Please restore to us the joy of our salvation, that our joy may overflow in thankfulness and praise to You and in service to our fellow man.

I pray today for…

In Your name I pray. Amen.

For a full explanation of this challenge, see the post 12-Minute Prayer Challenge. If you are just joining us, feel free to continue on with us from the current day, or if you prefer, you can go back and start at Day 1.