This podcast is a repost, originally published on April 18, 2017.

Series: Worship Expressions

• Giving thanks is a sign and foundation of true worship. Continuous thanksgiving leads to joy.
• Continuous murmuring leads to sadness, continuous complaining leads to anxiousness, and continual focus on things not working right leads to confusion and unstableness in life.
• Giving God thanks continually and worshiping automatically leads to joy even when there are problems in life.
• By praying even the most painful prayers with joy tells that one’s happiness is not based on the answers that he/she receives after prayer but on God and His relationship.
• In the presence of God there is fullness of joy. So when one has a relationship with God, he/she has access to joy. There is joy in knowing Him.
• When one prays with joy, God knows that this person is not only after Him to get his prayers answered and receive things from Him.
• Paul encourages people who were persecuted to rejoice in the Lord.
• When one has a relationship with Jesus, he/she always has a reason to rejoice in the Lord.
• Through prayer, one has communion with God, lays down all his/her burdens at His feet and receives His joy instead. After exchanging one’s problems for His joy, one can relax and trust in Him and rejoice in Him.
• Worship and prayer should be guarded with the joy of God. It shouldn’t be just about laying down problems before God but about rejoicing in knowing God and having a relationship with Him.
• Devil uses material things to discourage people. But when the primary cause of one’s joy is the relationship he/she has with God, the devil can’t steal that joy.
• Being guarded by the joy of God keeps one in a secure place of experiencing God’s love and joy every day; it is also an expression of one’s love for God.