Have you been feeling on edge and fatigued after the unknowns, the confusion and turmoil of the last who-knows-how-long? Overwhelmed with what is happening, how to pray into it or even knowing where to start praying? I know I am at times and that’s when it is time to hit the pause button.

How do you do that without checking out or giving up? I often do it by shifting my focus from intense intercession and supplication to affirming my faith in answered prayer and seeing afresh God’s joy in giving us our requests.

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1 John 5:13-15 says “And this is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests we ask of Him.”

Hence the importance of listening prayer and asking the Holy Spirit to pray through us. And the importance of praying Scripture. When know we are praying according to God’s will, we rise up from our prayers with the joy of knowing that He hears us, and that we have the requests we put before Him, big and small.

We can hit the pause button on asking by reflecting on that incredible promise – that He has heard us and has given us our requests – and by reaffirming our faith in that truth.

Between the lines of the promise in 1 John 5 I see something else: God enjoys answering our prayers! I have to confess that I oftentimes feel like I’m nagging a very busy God to throw me a bone, but that’s because when I’m in the midst of battle I can easily forget that He is my Father. I am a father too and I enjoy providing for my children. I enjoy being needed by them, and I enjoy seeing them enjoying what I do for them. I think God does too.

My wife and I have been watching “The Chosen,” a remarkable take on the relationship between Christ and His disciples from the moment He enters into each of their lives. Something stood out to us. When we watched Him perform miracles it struck us that Jesus had fun performing each miracle and He enjoyed watching the people’s reaction. When I saw that, The Lord spoke to my heart and said: “I’m having fun answering your prayers. Rejoice in my joy!”

Just, wow! Tears of relief, warm fuzzies, and deep joy in my heart for days. And a whole new motive for praying.

Paul says in Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Feeling hopeless by all that is going on in the world? Hit the pause button! Ask the God of hope to fill you afresh with all joy and peace in believing and meditate with a thankful heart on the fact that He enjoys answering your prayers. In fact, He’s having fun!

Today’s Prayer Assignment

Here are 7 verses concerning God’s joy in answering prayer for you to mediate on today. Affirm your faith that He has answered the specific requests you put before Him and worship His Father-heart.

Matthew 7:7-11: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Matthew 21:22: ” And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

John 14:13-14: “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

John 15:7: ” If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

John 16:23-24: “Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”

Mark 11:24: “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

Psalm 10:17: “O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear.”

May the Lord fill your heart with warm fuzzies at the fact that He’s having fun answering your prayers!

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Author Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years’ experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the US. Born and raised in the Netherlands and pastoring his first church in Amsterdam, he moved to the US in 1986. He and his wife Jennifer currently live north of Atlanta, GA When not writing books, he blogs and assists his wife as content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ.