Pray Without Ceasing

In the beginning, God spoke and made a world. David records: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth . . .For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6, 9.

It was Jesus, in conjunction with His Father, that created this world and designed human beings to inhabit and fill it. (See 1 Corinthians 19:1–4; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16.) What we see of creation, in our world today, is but a pittance of what the original must have looked like.

On the morning of the sixth day of creation, the beautiful world was filled with animals of all descriptions roaming over the lush green hillsides and down through the valleys, blanketed with flowers. Birds, flying through the air, warbled their lovely songs of praise to their Creator.

After pronouncing all that He had made, “good,” this great Creator wants to make a caretaker for the beautiful garden. He decides to make man, in His own image, out of the dust of the ground and then breathe into him the breath of life making him a living soul.

After forming every feature with the greatest care, God looks down on this beautiful being. He might have said, “He looks like Me.” Then, kneeling down, He puts His mouth to the mouth of this beautiful being and breathes into him His breath. As the blood reaches the brain I can see Adam give a great gasp and suddenly the heart and all the organs begin to operate. Adam opens his eyes and looks into the face of God. I imagine his first words could have been, “Who are You?” Then he must have looked at himself and asked,” Who am I?” Now, this wonderful God reaches down, raises this beautiful being to his feet, and says, “Your name is Adam. You are My gardener. And I want to show you your garden.”

I can see God now putting His arm around this beautiful being and they begin to walk through this beautiful place. He says, “You, Adam, are in charge of everything. It is your world. You can name the flowers, trees, animals and birds.”

After they had finished their tour, I can hear Adam say, “God, everything is so wonderful, but I am wondering, why are there two of all the other creatures but there is only one of my kind?” And God replies, “I have a plan.” Then He lays this giant of a man down, puts him to sleep and takes a rib from his side. From this rib He creates the most beautiful being of all, a woman. Can you imagine when Adam wakes up and sees God and then looks past God to the woman? I can hear him say, “But who is she?” And God responds, “She is your wife.”

The shadows of the sixth day are leaning heavily upon the trees of this beautiful garden of God. The sixth day is ending and the seventh day, the Sabbath, is about to begin. As they stand before Him, God puts their hands together and He pronounces them man and wife. Then, standing in the shadows of that sixth day, He watches these two beautiful people, that He has created, walk away, arm in arm, talking about this beautiful place which He has created for them to live in.

Every day they had an opportunity to meet with God and the angels. I can see them running to meet their appointment with God. Wherever they were, they came hand in hand, leaping, running and racing to meet God, and casting themselves at His feet. Then I can see this great God raise them up to their feet, put one arm around Eve and the other around Adam and walk through the beautiful garden, explaining its wonders to them.

I can just imagine Adam looking at a magnificent tree, maybe a Sequoia Redwood tree, and asking, “But God, how does the moisture get from the root to the top?” And the Creator of the world explains how it all happens.

Eden was a wonderful place, a wonderful opportunity for two people. Yet, we know what happened. The picture now changes and we find these two people hiding. God comes for His daily visit, and walking through His garden, He calls, “Adam, Adam, where are you?” I can see them now, coming from their hiding place, no longer dressed in that beautiful robe of light, which He had made for them, but in fig leaves that Eve put together.

I can hear them cry, “God, we will never do it again. Please, God, do not send us away.” But sin was so terrible, and so infectious that they had to leave the garden. This was the only way that God could solve the tremendous problem that sin had brought.

I can see Jesus standing with both arms around them, hugging them close to His breast and explaining Genesis 3:15. He tells them that He will come and take their place. The law of God had been broken, and the wages of sin is death. Jesus tells them: “I have to die for you. I am the Lawgiver and the only way I can save you and your posterity, now, is to die in your place.” Then He explains the sacrificial system that pointed to the day He would die for their sins so they could live again and come back and be caretakers of His garden once more.

Can you see the picture of Adam with that first little sacrificial lamb, taking the sharp instrument in his hands, looking into the eyes of this little innocent creature, knowing that it had to be slain because of his sin?

 

God’s Sacrifice

 

The picture changes. For four thousand years the world looked forward to the time when the Messiah would come. Every Jewish mother looked at the man-child that came from her womb and wondered if he was the one—the promised Messiah. Then, just as the Old Testament prophets had predicted, the Christ child was born to bring hope and salvation to a perishing world.

What was Christ’s mission when He came to this earth?

“Christ came to our world to counteract Satan’s falsehood that God had made a law which man could not keep. Taking humanity upon Himself, He came to this earth, and by a life of obedience showed that God has not made a law that man cannot keep. He showed that it is possible for man perfectly to obey the law. Those who accept Christ as their Saviour, becoming partakers of His divine nature, are enabled to follow His example, living in obedience to every precept of the law. Through the merits of Christ, man is to show by His obedience that He could be trusted in heaven.” The Faith I Live By, 114.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Fallen humanity cannot measure that love. Our earthly minds cannot fully understand it. And even in heaven, we will continue to study it throughout all eternity. God’s love is so amazing! Jesus was born in a barn. He was willing to come, all the way down to where fallen humanity was, so He could show them how they could gain eternal life and go back to His garden as caretakers, for the beautiful world that He will re-create.

The cross was a tragedy, yet it was the only way God could solve the sin problem. We think that when we are taken out of our positions in churches, or are disfellowshipped, we have been mistreated; look at the cross and see what the church did to the Messiah. Yet, He uttered not a word of rebuke. He just put out His hands and they nailed them to the cross. The Roman soldiers picked up the tree and dropped it into the hole that had been prepared for it. You can imagine the physical agony 20 Land Marks

that He must have gone through, but it was not the physical agony that killed Him. It was our sins—yours and mine—that crucified the Son of God.

 

Christ Prays for Us

 

Just before Jesus was crucified, He prayed a very important prayer, not only for Himself, but also for His disciples. These were His words: “Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.

“I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee.

“For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept; and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves.

“I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” John 17:1–19. What a prayer! I believe those words come closer to explaining the love of God than anything I have read in the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy.

Today, Jesus is our High Priest in the Most Holy Place. But He will not remain there long. Soon the censor will no longer sway; the cases will be decided. It is now time for us to study the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy earnestly, and pray like we have never prayed in our lives before. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” Often when I have read that I have wondered, “How can I do that? I would never get anything done if I prayed all the time.” But prayer is not only the position you are in, prayer is an attitude of mind that you start your day with, walk through the day with, and go to bed with, at night.

I praise the Lord for the relationship that I have with Him through prayer. It holds me in such a beautiful relationship and when I break that relationship by impatience, I weep. We must overcome this impatience. And our only hope of doing this is to pray more and take that prayer experience with us through the day. Practice the presence of Jesus and you will receive His power.

Christ’s Object Lessons, 174, contains a precious promise about prayer. It says: “Amid the anthems of the celestial choir, God hears the cries of the weakest human being. We pour out our heart’s desire in our closets, we breathe a prayer as we walk by the way, and our words reach the throne of the Monarch of the Universe! They may be inaudible to any human ear, but they cannot die away into silence, nor can they be lost through the activities of business that are going on. Nothing can drown the soul’s desire.”

What a wonderful promise! The God of the universe hears our cries for help, and is never too busy to answer. As we lay our requests before Him, claiming His promise that we can overcome, He gives us the power to keep His law. Just as Christ was constantly in tune with His father through prayer, and thus able to resist temptation, we can receive the same power.

We need to learn to pray, as we have never prayed before. We need to pray for ourselves, for our children, our husbands, our wives, our friends and our neighbors. We must carry the burden of these souls upon our hearts.

 

The Secret to Answered Prayer

 

A lot of people have told me, “I pray and nothing happens.” And I say, “Have you laid your whole life at the feet of Jesus, surrendering your will, your mind, and your life to Him? Have you given up everything in this world?” The reason many of our prayers are not answered is because of how we live. We are not fully committed to God.

When my son was in Vietnam, God taught me some unforgettable lessons about prayer. At that time in my life, I felt that I had done many things and I was proud of everything I had done. I was a good preacher, because I had worked hard to be one. But through this trying experience, God taught me every day that I had to be humble. I could not do anything, but I believed that God could.

During the eleven months that my boy was on the battlefields I learned to pray as I had never prayed before. He told us later of the many miraculous ways the Lord had brought him through the most tragic, terrible circumstances. He was a commander and there were soldiers being killed all around him. A Vietcong shot at him from ten feet away, with an automatic weapon, and the bullets never touched him. Angels were deflecting the bullets.

The lessons I learned during that time have never been forgotten. God taught me that the first thing I do in prayer is to give my will to Him. When you give your will to God you give your mind to Him and His thoughts are your thoughts. Inspiration says: “By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ . . . the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 312.

During that time I memorized that passage, and began to study my Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy in a different way. I was not studying to be a good preacher. I was studying to fill my soul with the good things that God has in His Word and in the Spirit of Prophecy. I could not leave it alone anymore. I was getting up at 3:00 or 3:30 in the morning to study and my congregation said, “What has happened to the preacher?”

I was changed—not by what I did, but by what God was doing, and I wanted Him to do it. “Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on the merits of the Saviour. By prayer, by the study of the word, by faith in His abiding presence, the weakest of human beings may live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold then by a hand that will never let them go.” Ministry of Healing, 182.

“When with earnestness and intensity we breathe a prayer in the name of Christ, there is in that very intensity a pledge from God that He is about to answer our prayer ‘exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.’” Christ’s Object Lessons, 147.

“Unwearyingly persist in prayer. The persistent asking brings the petitioner into a more earnest attitude, and gives him an increased desire to receive the things for which he asks.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 145.

“Cultivate the habit of talking with the Saviour when you are alone, when you are walking, when you are busy with your daily labor.” Ministry of Healing, 510, 511.

One of my greatest experiences in the morning is to walk in the trees and praise God. Praising God is prayer. I lift my voice in thanksgiving for the health and strength that God has given me. I praise Him with joy in my heart for the opportunity that He has given me to serve Him in this great and awesome time.

Through praising the Lord we receive a rich blessing for ourselves. “If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 129.

“Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourselves from embarrassments and difficulty. The weaker and the more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger will you become in His strength.” The Desire of Ages, 329. That is prayer.

 

Prayer—Finding the Experience

 

The only way we can face the tragedies of tomorrow, and the next day, and the months and years ahead of us, is by becoming a people of prayer. I pray that you are willing to be made willing to bring your life into such a prayer experience that you can have the joy of seeing your prayers answered. God does not always answer prayer the way you want it answered, but He answers every prayer.

Sometimes God says, “No,” and that means that you have to have the spiritual maturity to understand when He says “No.” When people tell me, “God does not answer my prayers,” I tell them that maybe God is saying “No” and you do not understand. I have had God say “No” many, many times to me. But I have always accepted the “No” as God’s answer.

If you are willing to be made willing to bring your life into harmony with such a beautiful relationship with Jesus, you will walk with Him day by day. And that is a prayer experience. You know that Jesus is there because your sins are forgiven. You have confessed your sins (Acts 5:31), and God gives repentance. Learn to walk in this joyous living. Otherwise, you are cheating yourself of the greatest experience in the world.

But do not expect that the road will always be easy. Learn to accept every trial as a little stepping stone to a greater relationship to Jesus. Each hardship overcome, each temptation resisted, takes us a step forward in developing a character like Christ’s. It will take effort—prayer, study and a willingness to follow Christ, wherever He leads. Without this, you will not make it.

There is nothing you can do to be saved, but if you do not do something, you are going to be lost. God’s prophet wrote it this way, “It will require the strongest effort, the persevering and unfaltering determination, and the strongest energy to control self.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 92. But we are not left to struggle alone. “Every provision has been made in the word of God whereby all may have divine help.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 574.

We “must cooperate with divine power, and put forth” our “human effort to subdue sin, and stand complete in Christ.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 429, 430.

“Many never attain to the position that they might occupy, because they wait for God to do for them that which He has given them power to do for themselves.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 248.

“If we gain eternal life, we must work, and work earnestly . . . The characters we form here will decide our eternal destiny . . . Our part is to put away sin, to seek with determination for perfection of character.” Review and Herald, June 11,1901.

“This to us is a mournful statement, that there are those who will fail to enter in at the strait gate because they only seek to enter in and do not strive.” Heavenly Places, 263.

We have a part to play, but we have not done a very good job of playing that part. Discipline and human effort must be amalgamated with divine power before we can overcome. Too many of us have been trying to overcome in our own power. We have been trying to be good, thinking we will go to heaven “being good.” But we cannot be saved “being good.” We can only be saved being holy, and holiness can only come from the Holy One.

Let us study the word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy like we have never studied before. Dedicate yourself anew to God every morning by submitting your will to Him. You will be given all the power you need to do everything He has commanded you.

“The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God and being clothed with humility, possessing that love that is pure, peaceable, and easy to be entreated, full of gentleness and good fruits, is not an easy attainment. And yet it is his privilege and his duty to be a perfect overcomer here.” Testimonies,vol. 3, 106.

May God make us like that, today and every day, until eternity.