Joy of the Lord
The sermon emphasizes the importance of prayer as a privilege and a secret to experiencing joy, love, and peace in our lives.
Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about the power of prayer in the Christian life, emphasizing the privilege and blessing of being able to ask God for our needs and desires in Jesus' name, promising that we will receive and our joy will be full. She highlights the misconception of prayer as a task rather than a gift of access to God's fullness and grace, urging believers to embrace prayer as a means to experience love, trust, serenity, peace, and joy in their walk with God.
Text
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name, ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
JOHN 16:24
GOD'S "ask"
Meaneth all fulness and all grace,
Access in every time and place;
Yet we
To whom this mercy is so free,
This privilege of light to bask
In the full sunshine of His face,
Regard prayer even as a task.
ANNA E. HAMILTON
THERE is some power we have not yet discovered, some secret as yet unknown--but oh! what a marvelous power! what a blessed secret! that can make the Christian life a life of love, and trust, and bright serenity; something different from the duty-life, which, though real, does not satisfy; having all the activity and earnestness of the duty-life, but having with it the peace and joy which many and many a soul is craving.
WILLIAM R. HUNTINGTON
We do not value as we ought our inestimable privilege of being allowed to worship God. We do not prize our heavenly prerogative of being permitted to keep His commandments. We look at that as an obligation which is more properly a boon.
FREDERICK W. FABER
Sermon Outline
- The Power of Prayer
- The Secret to a Life of Joy
- Valuing Our Privilege
- Prayer as a Privilege
- Prayer as a Task
- A Life of Love and Trust
- Bright Serenity and Peace
- Worship as a Boon
- Obligation vs. Privilege
Key Quotes
“There is some power we have not yet discovered, some secret as yet unknown--but oh! what a marvelous power! what a blessed secret!” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“We do not value as we ought our inestimable privilege of being allowed to worship God.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“We do not prize our heavenly prerogative of being permitted to keep His commandments.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We should recognize prayer as a privilege rather than a task, and value it as a boon rather than an obligation.
- Prayer is the key to experiencing a life of love, trust, and bright serenity.
- We should strive to appreciate the inestimable privilege of being allowed to worship God and keep His commandments.