Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “Be Joyful Always, Pray Continually and Give Thanks in All Circumstances.” Christians should not lose joy, being prayerful, and thanksgiving no matter what kind of situations we face because it is God’s will for us. If we live a life in which we are always joyful, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, following the will of God, God will receive glory through us. In addition, we can enjoy good health and all can go well with us, even as our souls are getting along well. The Bible commands us to be joyful always. When we rejoice, those who are around us will be influenced by our joyful attitude. If we are joyful, the scent of joy will overflow in our life’s circumstances and the effect of the scent is very far reaching. Therefore, don’t just smile, but laugh out loud! It has a far greater effect on our bodies and hearts. Proverbs 15:13 says, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” We must commit our worries and anxieties to God. In the cold winter a pine tree still has it’s green leaves. Yesterday and today there was a heavy snowfall so all the trees are covered with thick snow, yet the pine tree has its peculiar characteristic of having green leaves in these circumstances. A pine tree overcomes all the chilliness and hard wind during winter time and rarely dies, this is so even at the stroke of lightening. However, this same pine tree, which may have stood for hundreds of years, is so vulnerable to a tiny worm named Pine Wilt that it will dry up and die within a year as it is eaten away by it. Similarly, in our life there is something similar to the Pine Wilt worm. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” When one’s bones are dried up, he/she can’t be healthy any more. It is worries and anxiety that eat away at our hearts and minds. If we leave them alone, our life will be ruined. Therefore, the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” We must leave our worries to God. Then what is the best way to do it? It is by our prayer! Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, we Christians must always leave our worries to the Lord through our fervent prayers. In the Old Testament, Job 1:21 says, “and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.’ " Satan presumed that Job would curse God as he had to suffer sudden disaster one after another. However, Job overcame complaints and murmuring by praising God. Complaints and murmuring are the devil’s strategy to defeat us. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy us through complaints and murmuring. These look like petty failures, but they will destroy our life as they become habitual. They are so easy to do. However, they are absolute poison that can kill us and our faith. Therefore, when you go into trouble and are about to complain and murmur, you should give thanks and praises to God right there! Then the devil will leave you and spiritual, material, and physical blessing and prosperity will come to you instead. Laughter makes not only those who laugh happy but also those who are around them happy. Psalm 16:11 says, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” There is joy in the Lord’s presence and eternal pleasures at His right hand. The nearer we come to the Lord, the greater joy and happiness will overflow from Him. Laughter allows us to have positive thoughts and brings happiness in life. And the Bible commands us, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.” When we pray and simultaneously praise, it will be even more effective. Paul and Silas prayed a prayer with praises. After they cried out to the Lord and then sang praises to Him and worshipped Him with this earnestness, its effect was enormous. Acts 16:25-26 says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.” Some may say that the earthquake opened the prison doors and in this way chains came loose, but it can’t happen that way. All the prisoners’ feet were fastened in stocks. Then their stocks and chains came loose one by one. Angels of God came to perform mighty miracles as God shouted with joy and happiness at Paul and Silas’ prayer and praises. E. M. Bounds, world known prayer professional in USA, said that through prayer we could enter a great orchard of the promise of God in which we can enter to pick and enjoy most ripe fruit by our hearts and hands. All those abundant promises of God can be ours through our prayers. Jesus said in John 16:24, “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” When we pray, God comes to us to solve all our problems; His being with us becomes a good reason to rejoice! When we cast out the devil, as we praise God with a loud voice, demons will get lost. When King Saul ruled the Israelites, God let an evil spirit torment him as he sinned against God. At that time David used to sing praises and his praises would cast out the devil. His fame spread even to the King who sent for him to come to his palace. Whenever Saul was under pressure of the devil and began to shout, struggle hard, and throw something at random, David always played his harp and sang praises; then the evil spirit left Saul immediately. 1 Samuel 16:23 says, “Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.” Luke 4:34 says, "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" The evil spirits are most afraid of Jesus. Mark 16:17 says, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues.” We must cast out demons in order not to be tormented by them. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” All worries and anxiety in our hearts and minds come from demons. Psalm 28:6-7 says, “Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.” Therefore, our prayer must accompany praises to God so He will be glorified greatly. The Bible says that we must be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. Thanksgiving is not conditional but a matter of faith. If we have faith in God, we can give thanks to Him in all circumstances. Thanksgiving does not depend on any condition but is a matter of faith. We who believe in God can be thankful in all circumstances. The prophet Habakkuk wrote as follows, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” He said that he was satisfied even in the midst of lack of food if only God would be with him. However, if faith lacks, we can’t give thanks because we have to worry about today and tomorrow. Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” The Lord commands us to live our lives through prayer more actively than we expect. Colossians 3:16-17 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” We are required to give thanks and praises to God the Father relying on Jesus Christ. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Psychologist David A. Seamands said that the devil tempts humans by implanting negative thoughts in their hearts and minds. The devil works through negative thoughts and spoken words. He makes us think of ourselves negatively by putting a thought of “I am incompetent,” in our minds. He makes us think negatively about our future by putting a thought of “it is all over.” He makes us discouraged and fall into despair by putting a thought of “I am not qualified to receive love. I am abandoned.” The source of despair belongs to the devil. He leads us to despair! Proverbs 18:20-21 says, “From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” If we keep speaking despair, we will bear the fruit of death. The devil steals, kills, and destroys us through hopeless thoughts. Therefore, the source of despair is the devil. If we lose hope and become frustrated, we already become his prey. We should not fall for the devil’s schemes. When despair occupies our hearts, we will bear the fruit of death. We who believe in God can conquer despair through a life in which we are always joyful, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. In addition, we can always dream and speak hope. We must dream a hopeful dream. It is the devil’s work that steals our hope in the world. When people face big trouble, they easily say, “It is all over! Everything is finished!” However, we Christians must not say those negative things. It's not all over and it is not yet too late! We must say, “It is not yet too late.” It is because we have prayer with us. As long as we can pray, nothing is over. When prayer is over, then everything is over. When we can pray, it is not yet too late. A hopeful phrase is “It is not yet too late.” God always encourages us by saying, “It is not yet too late.” When we pray, God intervenes to solve our problems and to open a way for us to go. Therefore, it is not yet too late. You know, athletes usually have halftime for a new strategy. Even if they are surely losing a game, they call for halftime to rebuild their team and to fight for the second half. There is always halftime in any sports game. Likewise, there is also halftime in our life. We Christians may give up by saying “It is all over,” when we have to face some miserable suffering in our lives. However, only half of their life has ended. They still have their second half. When we deal with our second half well, we can overcome any failure in the first half. Therefore, your first half has not ended yet. In this New Year, we must have positive thoughts before God like, “I can make it. It will be done. Let us do it now!” And then we must dream a dream. If not, everything is over. We should dream a dream. And then we should have faith. We ought to pray before God and believe that the impossible will be possible and then speak a positive confession. We should say things that are not as though they were, and that the dead will be alive and misfortunes will turn into happiness. Whenever we open a way for the Holy Spirit our Advocate to come and help us, the Holy Spirit will work unimaginable miracles for us. It means that we should not live our second half on our own but by the power of the Holy Spirit. People usually strive to live by their might and power, but Jesus wants us to live a successful life by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, our Counselor. Therefore, we must not say, “It is all over,” in any circumstances. Don’t say, “It is over,” but rather say, “It is not too late yet.” And then rise up and come and pray before God. Please repeat after me, “I am not over. It is not too late yet. God will help me.” Through today’s confession, God will make us not thirsty.