2 - Reasons for Thanksgiving and Prayer | Uniting Heaven and Earth

The connection between heaven and earth lies in the subconscious/identity of human beings. Through self-deception, we live bound to people instead of God. Paul explains in his letters to the Philippians and Colossians that we experience suffering so that the error in our hearts becomes visible – as well as its removal. Suffering reveals the error, and endurance shows that it has been overcome. Without suffering, we cannot recognize error and thus cannot replace it with truth.

We may know that when suffering befalls us or others, it is for our good, and when we understand this, we do not resist injustice and no longer destroy ourselves. Paul praises God for having begun a work in them and for completing it. How does the God-human collaboration work? A spirit, for example, cannot exist in another spirit, so we communicate with God through the Word. The only choice is to crucify error through faith and live as a child of God. On the day of Christ – at his return – the 144,000 will be pure in heart – error will be crucified and trust in God will be restored.

What role does prayer play? The connection to God comes through faith in being a child of God. Prayer uses this bond, which has existed since the new birth. Self-deception also uses prayer, but to “maintain” the connection or to make demands, which is not possible. Let's look at a typical prayer from self-deception and one from the truth. Paul's prayer in Philippians 1:9–11 focuses on what needs to be recognized and done in order to complete God's work. Prayer is thus like a work meeting with God. We do not have to do anything to establish closeness to God, it comes through faith in being His child. What this means in detail is discussed in the second part of the series “Uniting Heaven and Earth.”