This is a prayer I made many years ago. Its goal is to help us to see our recreation as God sees it. Resisting both the temptation to slavishly overwork ourselves, and the temptation to pursue only comforts and pleasures, this prayer centers our enjoyment upon its Source, God Himself. In our enjoyment of God’s good gifts in the world, we affirm that He is a good Father (Mt 7:11). In our refusal to place gifts above the Giver, we affirm that true, lasting joy is not to be found apart from Him (Rm 11:36). If you are struggling either to enjoy good gifts from God, or else to focus inordinately upon them, I commend this prayer to you. All God’s good gifts are meant for your enjoyment, and so we endeavor in this prayer to have joy at its fullest, vibrant and bursting with laughter, which is had only in Him.
Psalm 16:11 - You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
Giver of every good and perfect gift, Teach me that You do not desire to rob me of the greatest pleasures the world has to offer, but instead You wish to rescue me from throwing myself down a pit to retrieve them. Teach me that true pleasure is had at your right hand and nowhere else, that peace will evade me, though I seek it earnestly, unless I search for it in You, that utter futility waits for me when I seek joy apart from its Source, that the loss of all things proves to be pure and delighted gain if I but retain my Savior. Show me that fuller enjoyment of any gift comes in acknowledging the Giver, that comforts pale in comparison to the Comforter, that reprieve rests in the Redeemer, not in retreat from responsibility, that fellowship is no obstacle to peace, but is instead its source. Bind these truths to my mind and heart, so that I might go forth in joyful exuberance, enjoying and relishing the good gifts before me today. Show me a deeper revelation of Yourself in the pleasures I undertake now, instill in my heart a taste of the sweetness of eternity at Your right hand, give delight in full measure as I eat, drink, and find pleasure in all I go to do, and allow the enrichment of my elation by enjoying my fellows and striving earnestly for their joy. Praise be to God for His gift of fun and fellowship this day, may my joy be to His glory. Amen.