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Persevering Prayer, June 11
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:8
.
We have a cunning devil to work against! Christ alone is mighty and fully
able to match his power, therefore we must have Jesus with us every moment.
We are sleepy, stupid, and do not sense the arts and gins and snares of Satan,
set for unwary feet. Therefore we must know how we step, that every move
is in God. Self must not come in here to make itself heard.
The destruction of souls is the regular employment of Satan and his agents
upon the earth. The salvation of souls is the work of every follower of Christ,
however weak. When [a man’s] selfish interest is made first and the salvation
of souls comes secondary, if at all, that man is working on Satan’s side, for
his very pretensions are a snare to lead others off the track, that they shall
not consider the kingdom of God and His righteousness first. Satan is getting
the start of all such workers. The salvation of souls comes first, always, for
Satan as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. We must
snatch souls away from his path. We must have clear foresight, discernment,
and faith, and work as if to save a perishing life, of which some carelessness
on our part might be the cause of death.
Missionary work, God help us to understand what it is, and how we must
engage in it. Every missionary should be wholly the Lord’s, pressing forward
to attain to the perfection of Christian character. The standard of piety must
be lifted high. Every species of idolatry must be sacrificed. Souls, precious
souls, must be saved....
One man, when the church in Scotland was making some resolutions to
compromise the faith, to concede their staunch principles, was determined
never to yield a jot or tittle. He went upon his knees before God and thus
pleaded, “Give me Scotland or I die.” His importunate prayer was heard. Oh,
that the earnest prayer of faith may arise everywhere, Give me souls buried
now in the rubbish of error, or I die! Bring them to the knowledge of the truth
as it is in Jesus.
We must carry the burden of souls upon our hearts; every selfish consid-
eration must give way to this. The cost of the blood of Christ shows the value
of the soul.—
Letter 20, June 11, 1883
, to W. C. White.
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