Prayer and Promises

The Promise 

If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off the former way of life in the old nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

— Ephesians 4:21-23, MEV 

The Testimony 

The heart that is surrendered to God, loves the truth of God’s word; for through the truth the soul is regenerated. The carnal mind finds no pleasure in contemplation of the word of God, but he who is renewed in the spirit of his mind, sees new charms in the living oracles; for divine beauty and celestial light seem to shine in every passage. 

The Bible has been placed in the background, while the sayings of great men, so-called, have been taken in its stead. May the Lord forgive us the slight we have put upon his word. Though inestimable treasures are in the Bible, and it is like a mine full of precious ore, it is not valued, it is not searched, and its riches are not discovered. Mercy and truth and love are valuable beyond our power to calculate; we cannot have too great a supply of these treasures, and it is in the word of God we find out how we may become possessors of these heavenly riches... When the heart is brought into harmony with the word, a new life will spring up within you, a new light will shine upon every line of the word, and it will become the voice of God to your soul. 

Shall we not be doers of the words of him who knows all things? Shall we not make the Bible the man of our counsel in the education and training of our youth? The word of God is the foundation of all true knowledge... Shall we permit men who are called great, and yet who have been taught by the enemy of all truth, to have the education of our youth? Or shall we take the word of God as our guide...?

We should ask the Lord to open our understanding, that we may comprehend divine truth. If we humble our hearts before God, empty them of vanity and pride and selfishness, through the grace abundantly bestowed upon us; if we sincerely desire and unwaveringly believe, the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness will shine into our minds, and illuminate our darkened understanding. 

Pray as did the psalmist, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,” and shall find as he did that “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether...and in keeping of them there is great reward.” 

— The Review and Herald, November 24, 1891 

The Response 

Be renewed in the spirit of your mind by contemplating the word of God. Surrender your heart to God and see new charms in the living oracles. 

Be doers of the words of Him who knows all things. Ask the Lord to open your understanding that you may comprehend divine truth. 

Humble your heart before God, empty it of vanity, pride and selfishness through His abundant grace. 

Pray, “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law,” for “Your judgments are true and righteous, in keeping them there is great reward.”