Prayer and Promises

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

— James 3:17,18, NIV 

You must first be a Bible Christian yourself, before you can lead others to Christ.

I will urge upon you the necessity of having a pure heart and clean hands. From a pure fountain will proceed pure and holy streams to refresh others.

Christ said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” You must have far less of self and far more of Jesus. You must meditate, you must pray, you must examine yourself in the light of God’s word. If you lose eternal life, you lose everything. 

We must yield ourselves wholly to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or follow our own natural impulses, and these impulses are not as harmless as we think they are. Things which are offensive to God are often construed by us into virtues. The eyes of the Lord are too pure to behold iniquity.

When the heart is fully surrendered to God, and our will is in harmony with God’s will, then the fruit will be good, for the wisdom which cometh down from above is first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruit. The grace brought to us through Christ will enable us to be pure, uncorrupted, holy.

The natural man always remains the same; he is what hereditary tendencies, nationality, education, and circumstances have made him. But when the natural man is changed by the grace of Christ, then the transformation is seen in the new man, the new heart, new purposes, new impulses. The word of Christ is received which is spirit and life.

You must have a firm hold from above; you must hear, receive, and practice the truth daily, applying its sternest requirements to your life, lopping off every offensive branch that makes the tree unseemly and unfruitful, else these branches will sap the life and nourishment from the tree, and it will wither and perish.

I appeal to you to dig deep, to lay your foundations sure; draw water daily from the wells of salvation, and the Lord will make you as a spring of water to refresh others.

— Testimonies on the Case of Elder E. P. Daniels, 1890, p.40-46