ome if we resist and face him.
Through divine strength the weakest saint is more than a match for him and all his
angels, and if brought to the test [the weakest saint] would be able to prove ... superior
power. Therefore Satan’s step is noiseless, his movements stealthy, and his batteries
masked. He does not venture to show himself openly, lest he arouse the Christian’s dormant
energies and send him or her to God in prayer.
The enemy is preparing for his last campaign against the church. He has so concealed
himself from view that many can hardly believe that he exists, much less can they be
convinced of his amazing activity and power.... Boasting of their independence they will,
under his specious, bewitching influence, obey the worst impulses of the human heart and
yet believe that God is leading them. Could their eyes be opened to distinguish their captain,
they would see that they are not serving God, but the enemy of all righteousness. They
would see that their boasted independence is one of the heaviest fetters Satan can rivet on
unbalanced minds.
Human beings are Satan’s captives and are naturally inclined to follow his suggestions
and do his bidding. They have in themselves no power to oppose effectual resistance to evil.
It is only as Christ abides in them by living faith, influencing their desires and strengthening
them with strength from above, that they may venture to face so terrible a foe. Every other
means of defense is utterly vain. It is only through Christ that Satan’s power is limited. This
is a momentous truth that all should understand. Satan is busy every moment, going to and
fro, walking up and down in the earth, seeking whom he may devour. But the earnest prayer
of faith will baffle his strongest efforts. Then take “the shield of faith,” brethren and sisters,
“wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”—Testimonies for
the Church 5:293, 294.
34
Transformed by Communion With God
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the
Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV.
During that long time spent in communion with God, the face of Moses had reflected
the glory of the divine Presence; unknown to himself his face shone with a dazzling light
when he descended from the mountain. Such a light illumined the countenance of Stephen
when brought before his judges; “and all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him,
saw his face as it had been the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15).
Aaron as well as the people shrank away from Moses, and “they were afraid to come
nigh him.” Seeing their confusion and terror, but ignorant of the cause, he urged them to
come near. He held out to them the pledge of God’s reconciliation, and assured them of
His restored favor. They perceived in his voice nothing but love and entreaty, and at last
one ventured to approach him. Too awed to speak, he silently pointed to the countenance
of Moses, and then toward heaven. The great leader understood his meaning. In their
conscious guilt, feeling themselves still under the divine displeasure, they could not endure
the heavenly light, which, had they been obedient to God, would have filled them with
joy....
By this brightness God designed to impress upon Israel the sacred, exalted character
of His law, and the glory of the gospel revealed through Christ. While Moses was in the
mount, God presented to him, not only the tables of the law, but also the plan of salvation.
He saw that the sacrifice of Christ was prefigured by all the types and symbols of the Jewish
age; and it was the heavenly light streaming from Calvary, no less than the glory of the
law of God, that shed such a radiance upon the face of Moses. That divine illumination
symbolized the glory of the dispensation of which Moses was the visible mediator, a
representative of the one true Intercessor.
The glory reflected in the countenance of Moses illustrates the blessings to be received
by God’s commandment-keeping people through the mediation of Christ. It testifies that
the closer our communion with God, and the clearer our knowledge of His requirements,
the more fully shall we be conformed to the divine image, and the more readily do we
become partakers of the divine nature.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 329, 330.
35
Pray Earnestly for Christian Character
Until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. Ephesians 4:13, NRSV.
We can never see our Lord in peace, unless our souls are spotless. We must bear the
perfect image of Christ. Every thought must be brought into subjection to the will of
Christ. As expressed by the great apostle, we must come into “the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ.” We shall never attain to this condition without earnest effort. We
must strive daily against outward evil and inward sin if we would reach the perfection of
Christian character.
Those who engage in this work will see so much to correct in themselves, and will
devote so much time to prayer and to comparing their characters with God’s great standard,
the divine law, that they will have no time to comment and gossip over the faults or dissect
the characters of others. A sense of our own imperfections should lead us to humility
and earnest solicitude lest we fail of everlasting life. The words of inspiration should
come home to every soul: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your
own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be
reprobates?”
If the professed people of God would divest themselves of their self-complacency and
their false ideas of what constitutes a Christian, many who now think they are in the path
to heaven would find themselves in the way of perdition. Many proud-hearted professors
[of religion] would tremble like an aspen leaf in the tempest could their eyes be opened
to see what spiritual life really is. Would that those now reposing in false security could
be aroused to see the contradiction between their profession of faith and their everyday
demeanor.
To be living Christians, we must have a vital connection with Christ.... When
the affections are sanctified, our obligations to God are made primary, everything else
secondary. To have a steady and ever-growing love for God, and a clear perception of
His character and attributes, we must keep the eye of faith fixed constantly on Him. Christ
is the life of the soul. We must be in Him and He in us, else we are sapless branches.—The
Review and Herald, May 30, 1882.
36
Pray in Humbleness of Heart
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we
should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26, NKJV.
Prayer is acceptable to God only when offered in humility and contrition and in the
name of Christ. He who hears and answers prayer knows those who pray in humbleness
of heart. The true Christians ask for nothing except in the name of Christ, and they expect
nothing except through His mediation. They desire that Christ shall have the glory of
presenting their prayers to the Father, and they are willing to receive the blessing from God
through Christ.
The Spirit of God has much to do with acceptable prayer. He softens the heart;
He enlightens the mind, enabling it to discern its own wants; He quickens our desires,
causing us to hunger and thirst after righteousness; He intercedes in behalf of the sincere
suppliant....
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Human beings must draw nigh to God, realizing that they must have the help that God
alone can give. It is the glory of God to be known as the hearer of prayer because the human
suppliant believes that He will hear and answer....
The prayer of faith is the key that unlocks the treasury of heaven. As we commit our
souls to God, let us remember that He holds Himself responsible to hear and answer our
supplications. He invites us to come to Him, and He bestows on us His best and choicest
gifts—gifts that will supply our great need. He loves to help us. Let us trust in His wisdom
and His power. Oh, what faith we should have! Oh, what peace and comfort we should
enjoy! Open your heart to the Spirit of God. Then the Lord will work through you and
bless your labors.—Manuscript Releases 8:195,