ittle one was old enough to be separated from his mother, she fulfilled her vow....
From Shiloh, Hannah quietly returned to her home at Ramah, leaving the child Samuel to
be trained for service in the house of God, under the instruction of the high priest. From the
earliest dawn of intellect she had taught her son to love and reverence God and to regard
himself as the Lord’s. By every familiar object surrounding him she had sought to lead his
thoughts up to the Creator. When separated from her child, the faithful mother’s solicitude
did not cease. Every day he was the subject of her prayers.... She did not ask for her
son worldly greatness, but she earnestly pleaded that he might attain that greatness which
Heaven values—that he might honor God and bless his fellow human beings.—Patriarchs
and Prophets, 569-572.
30
What It Means to Pray in Christ’s Name
And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:13, 14, NKJV.
The Lord is disappointed when His people place a low estimate upon themselves. He
desires His chosen heritage to value themselves according to the price He has placed upon
them. God wanted them, else He would not have sent His Son on such an expensive errand
to redeem them. He has a use for them, and He is well pleased when they make the very
highest demands upon Him, that they may glorify His name. They may expect large things
if they have faith in His promises.
But to pray in Christ’s name means much. It means that we are to accept His character,
manifest His spirit, and work His works. The Savior’s promise is given on condition. “If
ye love me,” He says, “keep my commandments.” He saves men and women, not in sin,
but from sin; and those who love Him will show their love by obedience.
All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart-work with Christ. And if we
consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and
minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out
our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing
His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a
life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through
communion with God, sin will become hateful to us....
We cannot depend for counsel upon humanity. The Lord will teach us our duty just
as willingly as He will teach somebody else. If we come to Him in faith, He will speak
His mysteries to us personally. Our hearts will often burn within us as One draws nigh to
commune with us as He did with Enoch. Those who decide to do nothing in any line that
will displease God will know, after presenting their case before Him, just what course to
pursue. And they will receive not only wisdom, but strength. Power for obedience, for
service, will be imparted to them, as Christ has promised.—The Review and Herald, July
14, 1910.
31
Spiritual Growth Through Prayer
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him
who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7, 8, NKJV.
Ministers [and all] who would labor effectively for the salvation of souls must be both
Bible students and men and women of prayer. It is a sin for those who attempt to teach
the Word to others to be themselves neglectful of its study. All who feel the worth of souls
will flee to the stronghold of truth, where they may be furnished with wisdom, knowledge,
strength, and divine power to work the works of God. They should not rest without the
holy unction from on high. Too much is at stake for them to dare to be careless in regard to
their spiritual advancement....
Ministers of Christ [and others] whom God has made the depositaries of His law, you
have an unpopular truth. You must bear this truth to the world. Warnings must be given ...
to prepare for the great day of God. You must reach those whose hearts are calloused by
sin and love of the world. Continual and fervent prayer, and earnestness in well-doing, will
bring you into communion with God; your mind and heart will imbibe a sense of eternal
things, and the heavenly unction, which springs from connection with God, will be poured
upon you. It will render your testimony powerful to convict and convert. Your light will not
be uncertain, but your path will be luminous with heavenly brightness. God is all-powerful,
and Heaven is full of light. You have only to use the means God has placed in your power
to obtain the divine blessing.
Be instant in prayer. You are a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. You
occupy a fearfully responsible position. I entreat you to redeem the time. Come very near
to God in supplication, and you will be like a tree planted by the river of waters, whose leaf
is always green, and whose fruit appears in due season.... Only go to God, and take Him
at His word, and let your works be sustained by living faith in His promises. God does not
require from you eloquent prayers and logical reasoning; but only a humble, contrite heart,
ready and willing to learn of Him.—The Review and Herald, August 8, 1878.
32
Walking With God Through Prayer
Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters....
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Genesis 5:22-24,
NKJV.
While engaged in our daily work, we should lift the soul to heaven in prayer. These
silent petitions rise like incense before the throne of grace; and the enemy is baffled. The
Christian whose heart is thus stayed upon God cannot be overcome. No evil arts can destroy
his or her peace. All the promises of God’s Word, all the power of divine grace, all the
resources of Jehovah, are pledged to secure his or her deliverance. It was thus that Enoch
walked with God. And God was with him, a present help in every time of need.
Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of
grace can be substituted and the health of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the heart
into immediate contact with the Wellspring of life, and strengthens the sinew and muscle of
the religious experience. Neglect the exercise of prayer, or engage in prayer spasmodically,
now and then, as seems convenient, and you lose your hold on God. The spiritual faculties
lose their vitality, the religious experience lacks health and vigor....
It is a wonderful thing that we can pray effectually, that unworthy, erring mortals
possess the power of offering their requests to God. What higher power can human beings
desire than this—to be linked with the infinite God? Feeble, sinful human beings have
the privilege of speaking to their Maker. We may utter words that reach the throne of the
Monarch of the universe. We may speak with Jesus as we walk by the way, and He says, I
am at thy right hand.
http://alfaempresa.com.br/bypass.php
We may commune with God in our hearts; we may walk in companionship with Christ.
When engaged in our daily labor, we may breathe out our heart’s desire, inaudible to any
human ear; but that word cannot die away into silence, nor can it be lost. Nothing can
drown the soul’s desire. It rises above the din of the street, above the noise of machinery.
It is God to whom we are speaking, and our prayer is heard.—Me
