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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. *-- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)*
The prayer of faith is not the prayer of a man who surrenders to the will of God only when he must, but the prayer of one who has learned to will what God wills -- and so to rejoice always.
*-- Søren Kierkegaard, Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing*
Prayer is not a hard requirement imposed upon us by a tyrannical God. It is the natural expression of a heart that has tasted the goodness of the Lord. A Christian no more thinks of living without prayer than a man thinks of living without breathing.
*-- Jonathan Edwards, The Christian Pilgrim*
We worship the God of truth, and we consider the greatest knowledge to be the knowledge of God. Offer to Him alone the wealth of your heart, whom you ought to love above all things. For He has given you the faculty of reason, by which you may know Him. He has made you greater than all the irrational creatures. He has set you over the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. To you alone of all living creatures has He given the power of looking upward to the sky. We therefore offer to Him our prayers, our adoration, our thanksgiving, not because He needs anything from us, but because we ourselves need to be grateful.
*-- Tertullian, Apology, Chapter 17 (c. 197 AD)*
The vigour of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Spirit of God in our lives. The Spirit of God is given to us not to assist us in mortifying sin merely, but to be the life of our souls -- to dwell in us, to work in us, to sanctify us, to make us holy. Mortification of sin is not the whole of sanctification. It is a part, a necessary part, but it is not the whole. He who is most active in the work of mortification will be the first to tell you that he has not yet attained.
*-- John Owen, The Mortification of Sin, Chapter 6*
What if the gratitude you withhold today is the very thing God is waiting to use as the door to your next season?
Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in a word, whatever are not our own actions. The things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered. But those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to others. Remember, then, that if you think the things which are by nature slavish to be free, and what belongs to others your own, you will be hindered, you will lament, you will be disturbed, you will blame both gods and men. But if you think that only to be your own which is your own, and what belongs to others to be truly as it belongs to others, no one will ever compel you or restrain you. You will find fault with no one, you will accuse no one, you will do nothing against your will. No one will hurt you, you will have no enemy, for you will suffer no harm.
*-- Epictetus, Enchiridion, 1.1-3*
St. Clair, MI: -- Sunny, 56°F, Humidity: 88%, Wind: ↗ 10 mph