Prayer and Promises

The Promise 

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

— James 4:7,8, NASB 

The Testimony 

Christ has said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” The resolutions you may make in your own finite strength, will be only as ropes of sand; but if you pray in sincerity, surrendering yourself, soul, body, and spirit, unto God, you put on the whole armor of God, and open the soul to the righteousness of Christ; and this alone,—Christ’s imputed righteousness,—makes you able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The work of every soul is to resist the enemy in the power and might of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the promise is that the devil shall flee from us. But let all realize that they are in peril, and there is no assurance of safety except as they comply with the conditions of the text. The Lord says, “Draw nigh to God.” How?—By secret, earnest examination of your own heart; by childlike, heart-felt, humble dependence upon God, making known your weakness to Jesus; and by confessing your sins. Thus you may draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. 

But let us read the remainder of the lesson given for our instruction, that we may more fully comprehend what it means to draw nigh to God. “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.” The work that is essential to be done by the sinner is here clearly defined. It is a work not agreeable to the human heart; but unless it is done, the soul is not in a condition to appreciate the purity and perfection of the character of Christ, and in no condition, either, to understand the offensiveness of sin. The exhortation is given, “Purify your hearts, ye double-minded.” While professing to be Christians, many have the mold of the world upon them, and their affections are not set upon God. They are double-minded, making an attempt to serve God and mammon at the same time… To all appearances they are serving God, while at the same time, in heart, they are yielding to the temptations of Satan, and cherishing sin. 

It is the work of the human agent to be strong, not in his own finite strength, but in the strength of the Lord, in the power of his might. 

— The Youth’s Instructor, February 8, 1894 

The Response 

O my God, I am weak, in my own strength I can do nothing. My affections are pulled to the world and I confess to be double-minded. I seek to draw near to You. I earnestly ask that You cleanse my hands and purify my heart. I humbly surrender myself, soul, body and spirit, to You and open my heart to the righteousness of Christ. Thank You for the promise that I may draw near You and the devil will flee!