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Testimonies for the Church Volume 8
name,” Christ says. I do not say that I will pray the Father for you; for
the Father Himself loveth you. Make use of My name. This will give
your prayers efficiency, and the Father will give you the riches of His
grace. Wherefore ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
Christ is the connecting link between God and man. He has
promised His personal intercession. He places the whole virtue of His
righteousness on the side of the suppliant. He pleads for man, and
man, in need of divine help, pleads for himself in the presence of God,
using the influence of the One who gave His life for the life of the
world. As we acknowledge before God our appreciation of Christ’s
merits, fragrance is given to our intercessions. As we approach God
through the virtue of the Redeemer’s merits, Christ places us close
by His side, encircling us with His human arm, while with His divine
arm He grasps the throne of the Infinite. He puts His merits, as sweet
incense, in the censer in our hands, in order to encourage our petitions.
He promises to hear and answer our supplications.
Yes, Christ has become the medium of prayer between man and
God. He has also become the medium of blessing between God and
man. He has united divinity with humanity. Men are to co-operate
with Him for the salvation of their own souls, and then make earnest,
persevering efforts to save those who are ready to die.
We must all work now, while the day lasts; for the night cometh,
in which no man can work. I am of good courage in the Lord. There
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are times when I am shown distinctly that there exists in our churches
a state of things that will not help but hinder souls. Then I have hours,
and sometimes days, of intense anguish. Many of those who have a
knowledge of the truth do not obey the words of God. Their influence
is no better than the influence of worldlings. They talk like the world
and act like the world. Oh, how my heart aches as I think of how the
Saviour is put to shame by their un-Christlike behavior! But after the
agony is past, I feel like working harder than ever to restore the poor
souls, that they may reveal the image of God.
* * * * *
Pray, yes, pray with unshaken faith and trust. The Angel of the
covenant, even our Lord Jesus Christ, is the Mediator who secures the
acceptance of the prayers of His believing ones.
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