With great rapidity, Google will provide the numerical answer to this question.

Citing the King James Version of the Bible, one Google-suggested source indicates the usage of the word “pray” and its derivatives as follows:

prayer — 114 times
pray — 313 times
prayed — 65 times
praying — 20 times

TOTAL — 512 times

We are told in the Bible, no matter the version, that “on the night in which He was bretrayed,” Christ went to the Mount of Olives with three of His disciples asking them to stay close by and pray while He prayed in the garden and proving to Him, as is often and also the case with us, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

He was about to be betrayed…He knew He was going to be betrayed…and He prayed, “drops of blood He prayed”…we know some of what Christ prayed, but not all…and we know the answer He not only was told but the answer He chose as His own, the choice He made…we also know how the Son dreaded the separation and the isolation from the Father that the hours from crucifixion to ressurection would invovle…and we know that His answer, as He had done numerous times previously, when faced with traversing “the valleys” as opposed to ascending to the “mountaintops” of life, was to pray — to talk with His Father; to seek guidance, direction, and discernment from God; to “come before the Presence of God with praise and thanksgiving”; to know that “He could do all things through God Who would strengthen Him”; to know, as the pastor mentioned in his last week’s sermon, that “God delighted in Him” and that “His Father, God, and LORD loved Him.”

All of this and so very, very, very much more was accomplished for Christ when He talked with God in prayer.

Is not, has not, and would not the same be given to each of us by “our Father Who art in heaven” when we surrender ourselves, our hearts, and all our needs to Him in prayer?

…consider…

Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

…and…

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Humbly, while not being a wise and learned pastor, but only one who has seen in the lives of those I know and love “the power of prayer,” I would suggest that the pastor’s values of “truth, wisdom, and integrity” be expanded from three to four by including as a value worthy of teaching and imparting, the core value of prayer.

Consider the poets’ definition of success, which expresses for them and as well as should express for God’s people, the simplicity yet blessedness of a “truth, wisdom, and integrity” success acquired when living a life based on and filled with the sharing of the values — Christ values, core values — referenced by the pastor in his sermon and in the included writings above:

“Success”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

“What Constitutes Success”
By Bessie Stanley (1905)

He has achieved success who has lived well,
laughed often and loved much;
who has gained the respect of intelligent men
and the love of little children;
who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who has left the world better than he found it,
whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty
or failed to express it;
who has always looked for the best in others
and given them the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration;
whose memory a benediction.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
‘ Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

For myself, I know that as many times as I read any of the Scriptures, even repeatedly read them — from one verse to entire books of the Bible — I glean a much deeper and clearer understanding of what God is saying if I hear it taught by a creditable and “bestest” teacher in a Bible study class and/or if I hear it explained and discussed by a creditable, knowledgeable, discerning, articulate, and wise pastor in a well-thought-out, well-organized, and thought-provoking sermon.

Perhaps it is the same for you.

This same premise — listen to, rather than and in addition to, the reading — at least to me, applies to the information contained in this blog.

As good as these written words are in capturing the “essence” of joy as differentiated from happiness, and as effective as these written words are in defining joy as “a shout inside of us waiting to be born” as displayed scripturally by the woman with her tears and the washing of Christ’s feet with her hair, if all you have done is read the written words and not heard the passionate and impassioned heart of the shepherd spoken and shared with his flock in the attached audio of the sermon, “Gospel of Joy,” then a dimension of your understanding of this Lukean story; the reason behind the pastor’s choosing to tell it, especially on Mother’s Day; and the message of the sermon will be unfortunately and regrettably missed and lost forever.

What spells credibility for some listeners is not the same for others. What captures the attention of some listeners is not the same for others. Besides and in addition to the depth of thought, insights, and unique perspectives offered in the sermon entitled the “Gospel of Joy,” I was drawn to it, held by it, and enlightened by it for a multitude of reasons, but primarily because of and by the 1) opening prayer, 2) the pastor’s sharing of numerous points with little or no repetiton except for the word ‘joy”, and 3) the pastor’s defining of joy in contrast with happiness while never mentioning the word “happiness” and/or defining it.

One of the most plaintive and succinct prayers ever written and/or spoken is located in Luke 18:13: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Oh, the depth of meaning, surrender, and self-recognition embodied in those seven words. Likewise indicative of surrender and self-recognition of the pastor offering it, was the opening prayer to this sermon. Realizing, I believe, that the congregants would rather hear “warm fuzzies” about how God wants everyone to be “happy” so, therefore, whatever makes you “happy” is okay with God, the pastor admits that only God’s Spirit can “open eyes to see and ears to hear”; and he surrenders himself, his message, and his congregation to God as he prays, “God, help us …I need help telling this message, and they need help hearing and understanding it.”

Credibility in this pastor’s humility, honesty, heart, and dependence on Omnipotent God? …most assuredly.

Credibility in his message because of his lack of arrogance and self-righteousness as well as his admission of his human limitations? …most assuredly.

I would never have seen it on my own, but through the eyes and heart of this servant-pastor, who always reminds others of the need and responsibility to “love by serving,” I saw and was once again amazed at the multiplicity of meanings and messages inherent in Jesus’ stories and parables in the New Testament. I am not surprised that the story of the woman washing and drying Christ’s feet with her tears and her hair is found in Luke; for so, too, and only in that book, will you find the story of the Prodigal Son. In both, the protagonist is really not the protagonist — in the Prodigal Son, the younger brother is not really the protagonist, although he appears to be since the story is primarily about him and the choices he made. The same holds true for the woman whose sins Christ forgives — although the story appears to be about her and the choices she has made, she is not the protagonist. In both stories, the protagonist is God. Why? Because in both stories, God is using the younger brother and the woman to offer the older brother and Simon a chance and a choice; just like He does us — sometimes directly and sometimes through and because of others. And so, through these two stories, God shows us that we can and do serve Him when we knowingly and unknowingly choose and are chosen by Him to be His instruments. Am I wise enough to perceive such thoughts on my own? Oh, my, no! How then am I able to write what I wrote above? …because of the Spirit and by listening to and because of the creditable words and thoughts of a knowledgeable and wise pastor, who chooses to teach and preach God’s Truth, rather than platitudes and “warm fuzzies.”

With which would you rather have your life filled minute-by-minute, day-by-day? Happiness or joy? And if you choose happiness with the belief that, because God is a loving God Who wants you to be happy, where then are you left in your relationship with and your understanding of God when tragedy strikes your life, let’s say, when you are diagnosed with cancer? Do you then turn on Him and believe that God hates you? Do you then turn on Him and believe that God is punishing you? Do you then turn on Him and believe that God doesn’t love you? What a miserable existence you will live if you choose happiness which, ironically, causes you to live in misery because you believe that God does not love you and has abandoned you.

Choose joy, as the pastor points out in his sermon; and you will be filled with a peace and heart-knowledge that enables and allows you to know that even in the toughest of times, “God delights in you,” “God loves you,” and God is ever-present with you.

…so…how ’bout you? Which do you choose? Happiness, which, I believe to be temporary, fleeting, and transient? Or joy which, in contrast, is permanently supplied by God’s presence and peace because, as is affirmed so frequently throughout the Bible, especially in the New Testament — “[your] faith has saved you; go in peace”?

…and…once again, how do I know this? …the Spirit and a creditable, knowledgeable, and wise teaching and preaching pastor.

Before I began writing this response, I consulted Webster. I wanted to see if there is a distinct difference between “joy” and “happiness” or if there is just a nuance of difference. There is a distinct difference between the two…a difference that the pastor proclaims by preaching and teaching God’s Truth concerning the joy which He wants all His children to know and experience so that they will not only be filled with that “shout of joy waiting inside to be birthed” but so that they will choose to “shout it” and share it with all the world.

Would I, on my own, have known that there is a difference between joy and happiness, let alone have a desire to consult Webster in search of the definitions of both words? No.

Would I, on my own, know that it is joy along with its accompanying peace rather than happiness that I should request in my prayers for others as well as myself? No.

…and…once again, how do I know this? …the Spirit and a creditable, knowledgeable, and wise teaching and preaching pastor.

Perhaps, it is overly simplistic and even misplaced for me to liken joy to “grace” and happiness to “works” and, therefore, then draw the appropriate comparison between that which is given by God and that which is earned by man and then continue to suggest that joy is “an unearned and unmerited gift from God given by Him to each of us because of our faith”…but…consider Webster’s offerings:

Happiness — “…happens by means of chance or fate; happiness happens to a person by chance”; and, I would add,…it is man-made…created by us, by our “works”…not given, but earned, not given, but created….

Joy — “…joy is a source of delight; it lies underneath all emotions no matter what happens to the person”…it is a spark that lies within us…a spark that, as the pastor says, is a “shout inside of us just waiting to be birthed, waiting to burst forth”…a spark that, because of our faith in Christ as our Savior and our living as a “new creation in Christ,” becomes not only a light that sustains because of its peace but also a light that demands and must be shared with others; for such joy is a gift given by God with the intention that it be given away.

Which do you choose?

You realize it is a choice, and you are the one responsible for making it.

In the Prodigal Son, are you the younger brother and/or the father; or are you the older brother? In reference to the story of the woman with the alabaster jar, are you the woman or the Pharisee?

Your choice!

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.”

Looking at just the first two sentences, at least to me, suggests the listing and, thus, the counting of innumerable and ad infinitum numbers in the same fashion as attempting to count the stars, each of which God knows by name, and/or to count the grains of sand, which God referenced when telling Abraham that he would be the “father of nations.”

…so…it isn’t any wonder, when choosing to respond to this post’s writer’s challenge to list our core beliefs, that my mind should light initially on the two hundred-year-old challenge: “How do I love? Let me count the ways”; or that I should recognize in those first two sentences the fact that with the changing of a couple of words, that quatrain cannot only suggest that my core beliefs are numerous but also the “depth and breadth and height” to which they reach within both my heart and “my soul.”

I believe…
…in the Trinity;
…that the Bible is God’s most holy Word divinely inspired and written by the prophets;
…by faith, that Christ died on the cross and rose from the tomb and that by His grace, and not my works, I am saved;
…that I am a most grievous sinner, deserving of nothing but given everything in and through God’s gift of grace and His Son, Jesus, the Christ;
…that “God is good all the time; all the time, God is good”;
…that “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me”;
…in Romans 8:18;
…in Proverbs 3: 5-6;
…that there is a heaven, as promised by God, and that there is a hell of our own making;
…that there is life-after-death;
…in prayer and its power;
…that the Spirit indwells my heart, guiding, directing, inspiring, and enlightening;
…in forgiveness of sins and my need and command to forgive;
…that “God has a purpose for my life”;
…that “I am a new creation in Christ”;
…in stewardship — not just of money, but, more importantly, of all of God’s creation and all life, therein;
…that, on my own, I cannot read and understand God’s Holy Word but that I need the Spirit for such comprehension and that I need to “sit at the feet,” as did Paul and the disciples, of the most creditable and “bestest” of teachers;
…that no matter where I am and/or what I am doing, God expects me to live-out His Great Commission;
…in and choose to live the Great and New Commandment;
…in living in hope and being hope-filled; in being optimistic, not pessimistic; in seeing the “good,” not the “bad”; in finding God — His gifts, His love, and His grace in all things and all people;
…in being an encourager;
…in love — its healing power and in the sharing of it in numerous and varied ways to friends and family and total strangers;
…in random acts of kindness;
…in saying, “Thank you” often and most genuinely and sincerely — to God, especially, and to others;
…in smiles;
…in hugs;
…in the healing and helping power of listening;
…in asking questions rather than judging without knowing;
…that there are times when a person’s presence is more helpful and healing than words;
…that some things and some feelings cannot be captured in and described by words;
…that God loves and likes me;
…that I need to love and like me;
…that I need and must grow and be grown to know me;
…

…might my list of core beliefs, if I were to continue, double, triple, quadruple in length? Yes.

…so…borrowing from Miss Elizabeth…

“[What do I believe]? Let me count [one and each].
I [believe much] to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.”

…but…as with so many things in the course of this journey called “life,” nothing really can stand alone; each and all things are part of a bigger whole; are the sum total of all its parts. My list of beliefs represent my choosing from and assimilating into the person called me all the influences others, whomever and for however long, have had on me — God, the Spirit, the Bible, parents, friends, family, teachers, pastors, writers, the list, as with the list of my beliefs, could continue on and on.

…so to many I say, “Thank you for gifting me with you so that pieces of you are part of the puzzle called me.”

…and…”Thank you” to a pastor whom I know, whose heart for and knowledge of God and His Word, wrote and prioritized the Core Values in which I believe and by which I gauge every one of my actions and reactions and by which I live every minute of every day of my life:

Live in gratitude.
Lead with grace.
Learn in fellowship.
Link in community.
Love in service.