Prayer and Promises

THE PROMISE 

And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. 

— 1 Corinthians 2:4,5, NLT

THE TESTIMONY 

Moral darkness, like a funeral pall, covers the earth. All manner of false doctrines, heresies, and satanic deceptions are misleading the minds of men. Without the Spirit and power of God it will be in vain that we labor to present the truth. 

It is by contemplating Christ, by exercising faith in Him, by experiencing for ourselves His saving grace, that we are qualified to present Him to the world. If we have learned of Him, Jesus will be our theme; His love, burning upon the altar of our hearts, will reach the hearts of the people. The truth will be presented, not as a cold, lifeless theory, but in the demonstration of the Spirit. 

Many have gained by the study of our publications a knowledge of the arguments that sustain the truth, but they have not become Bible students for themselves... They do not often go before God to plead for His Spirit and grace that they may rightly present Christ to the world. 

Human strength is weakness, human wisdom is folly. Our success does not depend on our talents or learning, but on our living connection with God. 

An intellectual knowledge of the truth is not enough; we must know its power upon our own hearts and lives... Seek Jesus, brethren, confess your sins, plead with God day and night, until you know that for Christ’s sake you are pardoned and accepted. Then will you love much because you have been forgiven much. Then you can point others to Christ as a sin-pardoning Redeemer. Then you can present the truth from the fullness of a heart that feels its sanctifying power. 

Carry Jesus with you in your hours of solitude. Remember that He was often in prayer, and His life was constantly sustained by fresh inspirations of the Holy Spirit. Let your thoughts, your inner life, be such that you will not be ashamed to meet its record in the day of God. 

We must be much in prayer if we would make progress in the divine life... We need now to be imbued with the spirit of Christ, and we should not rest until we receive it. 

— Testimonies for the Church Volume 5, p.158-161

THE RESPONSE 

Contemplate Christ, exercise faith in Him and experience for yourself His saving grace. 

Become a Bible student. Often go before God to plead for His Spirit and grace that you may rightly present Christ to the world. 

Confess your sins, plead with God until you know you are pardoned and accepted. Then present the truth from the fullness of a heart that feels its sanctifying power. 

Seek earnestly to be imbued with the spirit of Christ, do not rest until you receive it.