Cultivating a Deeper Prayer Life - A Theology of Prayer

Study 16

Text: John 17

PRAYING FOR "JOY"

It is fascinating to note that Jesus actually prayed that His Disciples might have "joy" in their hearts. Obviously, "joy" was not something to be set aside or dismissed easily. Yes, Jesus prayed for important things - like being kept by God, but He also prayed for "joy." What was His concept of joy? What was Jesus actually praying for?

THE THINGS THAT COULD ROB US OF "JOY"

There are many things that threaten our joy. We could come up with a long list of things that could rob us of joy. Let's take a look at some of these things:-

If we were to lose our faith in God, we would lose great joy.
If we were to dwell on our sinfulness, we would lose immense joy.
If we were to dwell on the hardship that we have to endure in life, we could lose the joy of life that God gives to His children as they live out their existence on earth.

We could end up with a pretty negative outlook of life. We could be swallowed up in despondency!

THE "JOY" THAT JESUS POSSESSED

We would need to define this word "joy" carefully before we can fully appreciate the significance of the joy that Jesus spoke of in this context.

There are different words for "joy" in the Scriptures. "Joy" is essentially something quite subjective. Jesus spoke of possessing joy. He prayed that His Disciples might have the same kind of joy that He had.

"That they may have MY JOY..."
John 17:13

What was this "joy" that Jesus spoke of? Obviously, He had a special sense of joy in His heart that sustained Him throughout His life on earth. The Gospels did not pick up this element of joy very well, as the Gospel writers focused on His work of redemption instead. Nevertheless, we must not imagine that Jesus went about having a very grim face!

How should we describe this joy that Jesus possessed?

We would have to say that this joy was exhibited in the "peace" that was always in His heart.
This sense of joy must have been His great source of strength (Cf. Neh. 8:10). Nobody could have sustained the amount of work that Jesus had to do each day without being filled with a special sense of joy in the heart.
This sense of joy was something probably quite personal and subjective to Jesus. This special sense of joy was what He probably felt most when He communed with His Father in prayer.
This sense of joy must clearly be associated with the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul wrote of "joy" as being a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). In fact we have a direct reference to this special sense of joy mentioned in Luke 10:21, "In that hour Jesus REJOICED in the SPIRIT..."
- The joy that Jesus experienced here may well be described as a spontaneous outburst of joy. He was happy when His Disciples reported that they experienced success in their ministry.
- This "joy" was closely linked to the Spirit of God that rested upon Jesus.
We now have two distinct forms of "joy" mentioned

There was that personal, subjective Joy that Jesus sustained in His heart.
There was that outward, spontaneous outburst of joy.
Both are of course valid.

A CHALLENGE TO DISCOVER THE JOY THAT JESUS HAD

It is wonderful to read that Jesus prayed that His Disciples might have His joy. Have you prayed for this "joy" that Jesus mentioned?

How badly we need this "joy" in our life! May our hearts be challenged to discover this joy that Jesus prayed for.

The fact that Jesus prayed for this joy would remind us that this must be a special work that the Spirit of God must do in our hearts. We are familiar with "human joy." But there seems to be another joy that comes as a direct result of prayer. Let us be challenged to discover the Joy that Jesus obviously had in His life.

~ Pastor Charlie Tan ~