This post is part of a prayer challenge, 21 Days of Prayers For Your Friends. If you would like more information about the full challenge with daily email prayer guides, I invite you to find it here.
I know you want your friend to have joy, don’t you?
The beautiful thing about joy is that it runs so much deeper than happiness, which tends to be fleeting since it’s often dependent on the comfort level of our circumstances.
With Christ, it’s possible to have joy always. (Philippians 4:4)
In good times and bad. Happy and sad.
Because this joy doesn’t come from the temporal things of this earth. No, it comes from things that are eternal, that can never be taken away.
Joy comes from being in God’s presence, no matter our circumstances.
It comes from finding confidence in His unconditional love, no matter our circumstances.
It comes from having hope in a heavenly future home that is utterly secure, no matter our circumstances.
Let’s spend some time praying the Scriptures for our friends to have this kind of unshakeable joy. The Psalms provide a lot of fuel for this kind of praying, so we’ll ask God that our friends’ hearts would follow the psalmist’s example in the Scriptures below, claiming His promises and rejoicing in His faithfulness.
Prayers for Your Friend to Have Joy
But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread Your protection over them,
that those who love Your name may exult in You.
For You bless the righteous, O Lord;
You cover him with favor as with a shield.
(Psalm 5:11-12)
~~
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
You hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
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 16:5-11)
~~
Your righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like You?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
You will bring me up again.
You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
I will also praise You with the harp
for Your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to You with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to You;
my soul also, which You have redeemed.
And my tongue will talk of Your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been put to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt.
(Psalm 71:19-24)
~~
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into His presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, He is God!
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him; bless His name!
For the Lord is good;
His steadfast love endures forever,
and His faithfulness to all generations.
(Psalm 100)
~~
I will extol You, O Lord, for You have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to You for help,
and You have healed me.
O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;
You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints,
and give thanks to His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
and His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
By Your favor, O Lord,
You made my mountain stand strong;
You hid your face;
I was dismayed.
To You, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it tell of Your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my Helper!”
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing Your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
(Psalm 30:1-12)
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for joy unending that comes from lingering long in Your presence and then remembering Your presence all day long. I pray that my friend would experience this joy, and that you would draw her heart ever closer to Yours, that You would be the first One she runs to when her cup runs over with good news and celebration. Because after all, You are the Giver of her cup and every single thing in it. It’s in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, that I pray. Amen.
If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to sign up for the rest of the prayer challenge! It will be a source of blessing in your life (and your friend’s life) as you continue to pray the Scriptures over her.
