I am so excited to share the word God gave me for you. As I was praying, He spoke two things to me: joy and merriment.
Merriment isn’t a word we use much in contemporary English, but in older English, it referred to a jousting tournament or something that would be corporate and festive in nature. Rather than just an individual being merry, if the whole group is, there is something remarkable that happens when everyone is having so much fun; as you walk from place to place, there is so much laughter and joy.
And the Lord says to you, “You are going to enter into a new season of joy and merriment. I want to make you merry.”
Well, what is merry? The spirit of laughter might come upon you. You might just go from a place when you’re very pessimistic but choose to be joyful; then, all of a sudden, you reach a point that is beyond joyful and becomes merriment. It’s like when laughter is in your mouth, when you’re singing along with the radio, you’re putting on worship songs, and you’re not staying in the depressed state.
The Lord says, “Choose to be joyful because a merry heart does good like a medicine. Then you’re going to see that My medicine of joy is going to start healing your soul, start healing the pain that you have had, the disappointment you’ve had. Reach beyond a joyful state. If you will make a joyful noise, there’s going to be this time of merriment where you get together, and you just enjoy others, just enjoy life.”
“If you don’t have anyone to be merry with, or you’re not married or you’re single, or even if you’re a couple and you don’t affiliate with many others,” the Lord says, “you be the accelerant. You invite people into your home; you make dinners together. Bring an atmosphere of being merry, an atmosphere of being joyful, to those around you. Make the joyful noise together. Share My goodness. Share My greatness. You’re going to see, you’re going to sleep better, you’re going to feel better, you’re going to be more loving, you’re going to be more kind.”
So, Father, I thank You for the spirit of joy and merriment. Father, I thank You in the name of Jesus, for what You’re going to do in this new season, even as I prophesied in the past, a higher season. {eoa}
Cindy Jacobs is an author, speaker, and teacher with a heart for discipling nations in the areas of prayer and prophetic gifts. She and Mike—her husband of 43 years—co-founded Generals International in 1985.
This article originally appeared at generals.org.
Joyce Meyer 
Stephen Strang 
Charisma Media Staff 
