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Divine Power Obtained Through Prayer, April 14
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and
departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Mark 1:35
.
No other life was ever so crowded with labor and responsibility as was that of
Jesus; yet how often He was found in prayer! How constant was His communion
with God! Again and again in the history of His earthly life are found records
such as these:... “Great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him
of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”
“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and
continued all night in prayer to God” (
Luke 5:15, 16
;
6:12
).
In a life wholly devoted to the good of others, the Saviour found it necessary
to withdraw from the thoroughfares of travel and from the throng that followed
Him day after day. He must turn aside from a life of ceaseless activity and contact
with human needs, to seek retirement and unbroken communion with His Father.
As one with us, a sharer in our needs and weaknesses, He was wholly dependent
upon God, and in the secret place of prayer He sought divine strength, that He
might go forth braced for duty and trial. In a world of sin Jesus endured struggles
and torture of soul. In communion with God He could unburden the sorrows that
were crushing Him. Here He found comfort and joy.
In Christ the cry of humanity reached the Father of infinite pity. As a man
He supplicated the throne of God till His humanity was charged with a heavenly
current that should connect humanity with divinity. Through continual communion
He received life from God, that He might impart life to the world. His experience
is to be ours.
“Come ye yourselves apart,” He bids us. If we would give heed to His Word,
we should be stronger and more useful....
In all who are under the training of God is to be revealed a life that is not
in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices; and everyone needs to
have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must
individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed,
and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct
the voice of God. He bids us, “Be still, and know that I am God” (
Psalm 46:10
).
Here alone can true rest be found. And this is the effectual preparation for
all who labor for God. Amid the hurrying throng, and the strain of life’s intense
activities, the soul that is thus refreshed will be surrounded with an atmosphere of
light and peace. The life will breathe out fragrance, and will reveal a divine power
that will reach men’s hearts.—
The Desire of Ages, 362-363
.
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