David in singing the praises of the Lord says that “His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). If you have suffered through nights of pain and discomfort you will probably remember that things always looked better when the sun peeped over the horizon. The coming of daylight seems to mitigate the anguish of the dismal hours of night, the pain seems a little more bearable, and your prospects look better.
The Psalmist extols the effects of prayer which has, for him, resulted in deliverance from his enemies. He feared that his foes would extinguish his life and send it into the pit of Sheol, where it would not have been possible for him to praise the Lord. Prayer has bought deliverance and revealed to him a morning of joy. George Scrivens’ hymn “What a Friend We Have In Jesus” has some wonderful encouragements to be constant in our prayers. He writes: “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” (Hymn 416 in Songs of The Church).
Prayer was a prominent feature of the church’s life in its early years. We’re told that the apostles and those with them were “continually devoting themselves to prayer” as they waited in Jerusalem for Pentecost (Acts 1:14), and that those who were the first to be baptized into Christ “were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). When Peter and John were arrested, arraigned before the council, and then released they prayed together with fellow-Christians and received the Lord’s affirmation that He was with them when “the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
The apostle Paul says that the Christian’s life should be “devoted to prayer” (Romans 12), and that in addition to putting on the armor of God he should “with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). The letter of Paul to the Philippians is filled with joy, and Paul here encourages the Christian to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Why suffer needlessly when you can relieve your burdens through prayer? Peter instructs Christians suffering under the heavy hand of persecution to “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). How else but by prayer? The daily, continual, practice of prayer is our greatest source of comfort, guidance, and assurance—it can truly bring joy to our lives. “Weeping may last for the night, but … joy comes in the morning.”