A Prayer Regarding the Fullness of Joy in the Presence of God

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11, ESV)

Father, we can come to you in prayer, bringing every concern. We can be weary, frustrated, exasperated or filled up with deep sorrows. We can come carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders, slumped over in physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion. But somehow when we enter into your presence—the holy of holies—through prayer, there is an unmistakable sweet communion, a peace that passes all understanding, a trading of conditions: our sorrows, pain, worries, troubled thoughts for your yoke of hope and peace and quiet knowing.

When we talk to others about the beauty and benefit of prayer, we cannot explain what happens. Our words seem to cheapen the experience and reality of what prayer is. Somehow, we cannot adequately describe the holy, mystical, or the miraculous we find there without making it sound cliché or quaint.

This we know for certain: you meet us in prayer, you are here with us but yet you are bringing us to where you are. Your Spirit sense what we need to say even when we cannot find the right words to say and we are relieved of our heavy burdens even before we say our “amens.”

This we know: in your presence you make known to us the paths of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are the undeniable pleasures of joy and peace and hope and strength and wisdom and so much more. Thank you, heavenly Father for sharing so much of yourself with us in prayer and beyond, thank you for that little piece of heaven you bring and send to us just when we need it. In Jesus’ name amen.

Prayerful Activity: Instead of telling someone about prayer and what happens when you pray, try praying, pray with them.