Give thanks and rely on God
Sometimes we have too much work and no time for prayer. But if we take it into account, then if we have at least some time for prayer, we try to make the most of it. However, we must think of God in work as well: “Lord, this is for You.” Simply, we need to rely on God in everything we do. Unless we stop, we run astray. But if we stop, God gives us the light for our work, for what to do. All things of the Lord and all divine inspirations are born on knees. If we do not pray, we get nothing.
He who prays has power because God works through him. It is a fight with the realm of darkness.
If we pray in earnest and give our problems to God, He really solves them. We do not seek advice from fortune-tellers who are inspired by the devil. It is not good to seek advice from them because their advice is the devil’s lie. One is astonished at the fact how many politicians seek advice from fortune-tellers. How is it possible if they are Christians? It is a curse for the entire nation. Fortune-tellers pretend to be Christians and they even tell people to go to confession. It is the same as in the case of the fortune-teller at Philippi (Acts 16:16f). She followed Paul and cried out, saying: “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. And what did Paul do? He cast out the demon and the girl lost the “gift”. Paul was thrown into prison therefor. But Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God in prison. They were not frightened at all: “Oh, Lord, we will better not preach any more…” They said nothing like that. On the contrary: “Lord, we give praise to You!” And at midnight, there was a great earthquake, all the doors were opened, the keeper of the prison believed in God and was baptized, he and all his family. God causes even negative things to work together for good. But we must learn to give thanks and praise to the Lord in time of suffering: “Yes, Lord, I have suffered a misfortune, but something far worse could have happened. This is the price for evil I had done or the price I had to pay to prevent something worse from happening.” Evil often makes us stop and realize that the devil seeks to attack us and that we need to beware of the danger. Even if the devil puts us to trouble, God can turn it into good if we praise Him. But if we grumble, blaspheme against God, lapse into unbelief or rebellion in trouble, the devil laughs at us and things get worse and worse. Such rebellion and pride is natural to us. Therefore, whatever happens, let us stop: “Lord, thank You. I deserve it for my pride, for my sins. Although I am not guilty in this case – yes, that’s how I feel, but was perhaps Jesus guilty when they crucified Him? The Apostle says that if we suffer for doing what is right, we should rejoice because we have our reward in heaven. Lord, thank You for it!” This is practical Christianity.
Download: Give thanks and rely on God
