When the blacksmith strikes his hammer repeatedly on the anvil it is said that the same anvil will wear out many hammers. Those who strike Christians are creating boldness in the body of Christ. When Christians are persecuted there is more courage. Tell about the workers at Youth for Christ in Shri Lanka who were beaten and hospitalized after their host was killed during a weekend of ministry, and the head of the organization took one other man and the new van to go get them out, Luther’s conversation with the papal envoy and their threat of what was coming to him and the fact that all his supporters would desert him. Then they asked where he would be then. And he replied, “Then, as now, in the hands of God” One writer said, “we have the courage to be obedient even unto death, for we know that obedience leading to death will be used as a stepping stone for victory by God.”

From Jason Jones’ Sermon "God-Approved Prayer"