380
Counsels for the Church
Brethren and sisters, when you assemble for social worship, believe
that Jesus meets with you; believe that He is willing to bless you. Turn
the eye away from self; look unto Jesus, talk of His matchless love.
By beholding Him you will become changed into His likeness. When
you pray, be brief, come right to the point. Do not preach the Lord
a sermon in your long prayers. Ask for the bread of life as a hungry
child asks bread of his earthly father. God will bestow upon us every
needed blessing if we ask Him in simplicity and faith.
Prayer is the most holy exercise of the soul. It should be sincere,
humble, earnest—the desires of a renewed heart breathed in the pres-
ence of a holy God. When the suppliant feels that he is in the divine
presence, self will be forgotten. He will have no desire to display
human talent; he will not seek to please the ear of men, but to obtain
the blessing which the soul craves
Both in public and in private worship, it is our privilege to bow
on our knees before the Lord when we offer our petitions to Him.
Jesus, our example, “kneeled down, and prayed.”
Luke 22:41
. Of His
disciples it is recorded that they, too, “kneeled down, and prayed.”
Acts
9:40
;
20:36
;
21:5
. Paul declared, “I bow my knees unto the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 3:14
. In confessing before God the
sins of Israel, Ezra knelt.
Ezra 9:5
. Daniel “kneeled upon his knees
three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God.”
Daniel
6:10
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Testimonies for the Church 5:200, 201
543
Gospel Workers, 178