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Heavenly Guarantee, September 8
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7
.
Oh, if every one would only know by personal experience how much of
heaven’s promised rest can be secured to the soul, even now, by sincere prayer.
If one has not learned this lesson, every other lesson of life [had] better not be
learned till he shall learn in the school of Christ how to master this lesson.
As Christians we want a new and living experience every day. We want to
learn how to trust Jesus, to believe in Him and confide everything to Him. Jacob
was raised from a man of feebleness and defects, through faith in God in prayer,
to be a prince with God. He prevailed through faith. God is omnipotent. Man is
finite. In converse with God, we may lay the most secret thing of the soul open to
Him—for He knows it all—but not to man....
Do not become careless and separate from the Source of your strength. Watch
your thoughts, watch your words, and in all things you seek to do, seek to glorify
God. The more closely you lie at the foot of the cross, the more clearly will you
see the matchless charms of Jesus and the unparalleled love He has evidenced for
fallen man....
Let not the pressure of business separate you from God, for if you ever need
counsel and clear forethought and sharp ideas, it is when you have much work on
your hands. It is then that you need to take time to pray, to have increased faith
and implicit trust in the counsel of the Physician in Chief. Ask Him to help you.
Pray the oftener the more critical the work you have to do....
Oh what a theme to contemplate that man, depraved and lost in his natural
condition, may be renewed and saved by the gracious help that Christ gives him in
the gospel. The love of Jesus in the soul will drive out the enemy who is seeking
to take possession of man. Every trial patiently borne, every blessing thankfully
received, every temptation faithfully resisted, will make you a strong man in Jesus
Christ. All this grace may be gained in the prayer of faith....
Lay hold upon strength from above. Even Jesus, when preparing for some
great trial, would resort to the solitude of the mountains and spend the night in
prayer to His Father.
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