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Find God Through Prayer, January 15
Prayer in My Life
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and
I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when
ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12, 13
There are two kinds of prayer—the prayer of form and the prayer
of faith. The repetition of set, customary phrases when the heart feels
no need of God, is formal prayer.... We should be extremely careful in
all our prayers to speak the wants of the heart and to say only what we
mean. All the flowery words at our command are not equivalent to one
holy desire. The most eloquent prayers are but vain repetitions if they do
not express the true sentiments of the heart. But the prayer that comes
from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed
just as we would ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting that it would
be granted—this is the prayer of faith. The publican who went up to the
temple to pray is a good example of a sincere, devoted worshiper. He felt
that he was a sinner, and his great need led to an outburst of passionate
desire, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” ....
After we have offered our petitions, we are to answer them ourselves
as far as possible, and not wait for God to do for us what we can do
for ourselves. The help of God is held in reserve for all who demand
it. Divine help is to be combined with human effort, aspiration, and
energy. But we cannot reach the battlements of heaven without climbing
for ourselves. We cannot be borne up by the prayers of others when we
ourselves neglect to pray; for God has made no such provision for us....
The unlovely traits in our characters are not removed, and replaced by
traits that are pure and lovely, without some effort on our part....
In our efforts to follow the copy set us by our Lord, we shall make
crooked lines.... Yet let us not cease our efforts.... Temporary failure
should make us lean more heavily on Christ.
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