Reason #6 to Rejoice: I rejoice because of the certainty of answered prayer.

When we pray in God’s will, when we bend our will to His we know that He will answer us. What joy is greater than that? The ears of Almighty God are attuned to our whisper. I plan to do an entire series on prayer in the near future in our daily devotionals.

Reason #7 to Rejoice: I rejoice because of the fellowship with other believers.

One of the greatest joys of my life, the highlight of every week is gathering with you at Tucson Baptist Church. I’m thrilled to greet you, to hear of God’s blessings in your lives, to mingle my prayers with yours, to sing praises alongside you and to proclaim the Word to you. What sweet fellowship we have! Why would anyone want to miss this? You cause my heart to rejoice.

I can relate to what Paul said in I Thessalonians 3:9, “For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God.” As Paul prayed for that dear church, he rejoiced in the Lord over them.

He felt the same way about Timothy. He said in II Timothy 1:4 that he was “greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy.” Joy is not just in corporate relationship with the whole church but with individual believers.

Paul knew Timothy was having a rough go of it leading the church of Ephesus. He knew Timothy shed many “tears” and he missed him so much. He knew that to see his face would cause him to be “filled with joy.” Never take fellowship for granted!