Day 13
"You became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit"
1 Thessalonians 1:6
Prayer
My Heavenly Father, joy comes from Your Holy Spirit within me. Praise Your name! These words of Yours speak of joy as we receive Your word. And this joy takes place in "much affliction". So, we may have joy in affliction, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, we are able to have joy in Your words, no matter what!
Your scripture said: "You became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit"
I see the word "imitators" in the verse. How is it that they had joy as imitators? As I read the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians, I see that they shared Your word with others. "For from you the word of the Lord has been declared, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone out" (1 Thessalonians 1:8). So, they had joy as they made disciples!D And You have made it easy to make disciples!E
Yes,
there is joy in the Holy Spirit as we distribute spiritual food (Matthew 24:45-48)
... even when persecuted for it (Acts 5:40-41). We distribute spiritual food as we walk by the Spirit. And there is joy as we walk
by the Spirit.
It is written: "walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). But "the deeds of the flesh are... hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions... envy, murders..." (Galatians 5:19-21). But, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..." (Galatians 5:22).
And it is Your love in us that distributes spiritual food even if we are persecuted for it.
Making disciples is one of the most spiritually interactive experiences that we can have with You.4.9 We pass the faith by prayer4.10 as we watch in prayer.2.4
We walk by the Spirit when we hear and obey Your Spirit. We hear by prayer and we obey by prayer. Both hearing and obeying are granted by You as we ask for them.4.7 One result of walking by the Spirit is joy! Praise to Your name Yahweh!
Draw us oh Father... to pray the Endorsed Prayers of scripture4.1... that we may hear and obey Your voice within us4.7... to have joy in "much affliction" (1 Thessalonians 1:6), as we distribute spiritual food, in love, by the power and joy of Your Holy Spirit within.
You deserve all praise!
Amen.
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You are reading the Walk by the Spirit Daily Devotional Series, which is subchapter 3.7 of the free, online book Fellowship with God in the Sixth Path. In the Walk by the Spirit Daily Devotional, readers learn how to how to walk by the Spirit. Walking by the Spirit is one way the New Testament describes fellowship with God, the subject of this online book.
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