Kidnapped When Seven Months Pregnant, She Relies on God to Escape Danger

By Li Ai, Italy

　　“Don’t move and don’t scream! Do what I say, or this knife will end both you and your child!” said the vicious ruffian, threatening an unarmed pregnant woman with a sharp knife.

　　This was something that happened to Li Ai over 10 years before, and she still felt a lingering fear when thinking about it even now. After it was over, however, what she felt most of all was gratitude to God, for at that time of danger, had it not been for God’s guidance and protection, she dreads to think what might have happened.

　　It was October 2006, and Li Ai and her husband had bought a house in the suburbs. Because the house was far from where her husband worked, they decided to rent the house out. It wasn’t long before a middle-aged man who’d said he owned a factory took the lease, and said that his family would be moving in. Li Ai spoke with the man twice and, after the price and other matters were agreed upon, all they needed was for the contract to be signed.

What Does Praying Without Ceasing Refer to? Why Should We Pray Without Ceasing?

By Li Chen

Editor’s Note:

　　Many people are confused about praying without ceasing and see it as a difficult thing to accomplish. In fact, as long as we understand the true meaning of it, we will think of it as a part of our spiritual life which is of great benefit to our life progression. So what does praying without ceasing refer to? Why should we pray without ceasing? Read the following article and you will find the answer.

1. What does praying without ceasing refer to?

　　Regarding the apostle Paul’s words “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), many people interpret them as constantly speaking to God and consider it a very difficult thing to accomplish. In fact, praying without ceasing is not some sort of outward ritual. Instead, it refers to us Christians honoring God as great, relying on and looking to God, communicating with God in our spirits and living before God at all times. Praying without ceasing does not hold to a certain format, nor is it limited to a fixed time or place. Regardless of whether we are free or busy, strong or weak, whether our environment is comfortable or harsh, whether we have difficulties or not, or whether we have made transgressions or not, we can pray to God and communicate with Him. Even when our hands are busy doing something, we can still pray to God in our hearts. Whether we are sitting on the bus, working, or preaching, we can always pray to God, draw close to Him with heart, and quiet our hearts before the Lord. In short, we can practice praying at any time and any place.

Christian Reflection: Is Your Service of God Transactional?

By Liangzhi

A Story of Reckoning: Food for Thought

　　I read a story online about a child who gave his mother a bill, and on that bill he had written out all of the things he’d done to help her with housework and take care of his little sister; he said his mom should pay him 50 dollars. His mom paid him the 50 dollars and then prepared a bill for him. She included all sorts of things like his birth, the time she’d spent with him when he was sick, teaching him to walk, and praying for him. Everything was listed at zero dollars. Seeing this, the boy felt really ashamed and put the 50 dollars back into his mom’s pocket.

　　This anecdote made me smile, and I thought, “Anyway, the kid in the story was still young. Why shouldn’t we forgive children’s naivety?” But then I really gave it some thought: Isn’t the thinking of that ignorant child a reflection of the psychology of most people now? In such a materialistic society so many things have their prices clearly marked, so we naturally expect compensation for our efforts. Sometimes, something that we really should be contributing becomes a heartless transaction.

Guided by God’s Words I Stop Being Jealous

By Jianding

　　Editor’s note: In daily life, we are often jealous of people who are better than us and even may dislike and contend with them. The author of this article once lived in jealousy because her classmate was superior to her. She felt extremely miserable and was desperate to free herself from such misery. Now she has successfully emerged from the mire of jealousy. How has she achieved that? This article will tell you.

The seed of jealousy sprouted in my heart.

　　Xue is my classmate. We were equally excellent in study and got along well with each other. However, after the middle school entrance examination, Xue entered the honors class while I just got into a regular one. When I learned this, I felt a little unbalanced inside and thought, “Our academic performances are comparable, but how come she could test into the honors class while I just entered into a regular one?” But when it occurred to me that I didn’t work hard for the examination, I reconciled myself to this fact, and reluctantly congratulated her. But I was unaware that the spark of jealousy had flared quietly in my heart.

Devotional Life: 3 Ways to Get a Fresh Start With God

By Xun Qiu

　　Every Christian knows that believing in God requires a normal spiritual life, namely spiritual devotion. It is the foundation of establishing a proper relationship with God and the way of practice that is absolutely necessary in the growth of our spiritual life. Then, how should we practice spiritual devotion to achieve good results? Today, let’s communicate this aspect of the truth together.

Spiritual Warfare: I No Longer Miss Gatherings After I See Through Satan’s Deceitful Schemes

By Xiuhan, Thailand

　　Editor’s Note: Gatherings provide the best opportunity to draw close to God and obtain the truth, and yet we, as Christians, are often disrupted by the people, events and things around us, which prevent us from regularly attending gatherings and cause us to lose our normal relationship with God. These things appear to just happen by accident, but what is concealed behind them? How exactly should we deal with these people, events and things so that they do not interfere with our attendance at gatherings?

Gospel Music | Only By Turning Your Heart Towards God Can You Feel His Loveliness

I

The more you satisfy God,

the more your heart can turn to Him.

The more you pray,

the more you'll find His loveliness.

The more you satisfy Him,

the more He'll give His burden to you,

the more you'll love Him,

much more your heart will turn to Him.

When you reach the place

where you feel His loveliness,

then you can give Him praise

from down deep within your heart.

None can stop you singing

when you give Him praise within.

You'll feel His loveliness

when your heart turns towards Him.

Yeah, when your heart

turns towards Him.

Eastern Lightning | God's voice | Concerning the Practice of Prayer

　　

You pay no attention to prayer in your daily life. People have always overlooked prayer. In their prayers before they were simply going through the motions and playing around, and no one has ever fully given their heart before God and truly prayed to God. People only pray to God when something happens to them. Throughout all this time, have you ever truly prayed to God? Have you ever wept tears of pain before God? Have you ever come to know yourself before God? Have you ever had a heart-to-heart prayer with God? Praying is practiced gradually: If you don’t ordinarily pray at home, then you will have no way of praying in church, and if you don’t normally pray during small assemblies, then you will be incapable of praying during large assemblies. If you do not ordinarily draw near to God or reflect upon the words of God, then you will have nothing to say when it is time to pray—and even if you do pray, your lips will just be moving, you won’t be truly praying.