Chapter 231—Awaiting Our Demand
Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:24
.
Prayer is heaven’s ordained means of success in the conflict with sin and
the development of Christian character. The divine influences that come in
answer to the prayer of faith will accomplish in the soul of the suppliant
all for which he pleads. For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for a
Christlike temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift He
has promised, we may ask; and the promise is, “Ye shall receive.”
Jesus is our helper; in Him and through Him we must conquer.... The
grace of Christ is waiting your demand upon it. He will give you grace and
strength as you need it if you ask Him.... The religion of Christ will bind
and restrain every unholy passion, will stimulate to energy, to self-discipline,
and industry, even in the matters of homely, everyday life, leading us to
learn economy, tact, and self-denial, and to endure even privation without a
murmur. The Spirit of Christ in the heart will be revealed in the character, will
develop noble qualities and powers. “My grace is sufficient” (
2 Corinthians
12:9
) says Christ.
Make every effort to keep open the communion between Jesus and your
own soul.... We should pray in the family circle, and above all we must not
neglect secret prayer; for this is the life of the soul. It is impossible for the
soul to flourish while prayer is neglected. Family or public prayer alone
is not sufficient. In solitude let the soul be laid open to the inspecting eye
of God. Secret prayer is to be heard only by the prayer-hearing God. No
curious ear is to receive the burden of such petitions. In secret prayer the
soul is free from surrounding influences, free from excitement.... By calm,
simple faith, the soul holds communion with God, and gathers to itself rays
of divine light to strengthen and sustain it in the conflict with Satan....
Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor, let your heart
be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. These
silent prayers rise like precious incense before the throne of grace. Satan
cannot overcome him whose heart is thus stayed upon God.
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