Prayer and Promises

The Promise 

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

— John 14:16,26, NASB 

The Testimony 

The promise of the Holy Spirit was the brightest hope and the strongest consolation that Christ could leave His disciples when He ascended to heaven. The truths of God’s Word had been buried beneath the rubbish of misinterpretation; the maxims of men, the sayings of finite beings, had been exalted above the Word of the living God. Under the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles separated truth from false theories, and gave to the people the Word of life. 

We need to pray for the impartation of the divine Spirit as the remedy for sin-sick souls... plead earnestly, Abide with me. Why should we not prostrate ourselves at the throne of divine grace, praying that God’s Spirit may be poured out upon us as it was upon the disciples? Its presence will soften our hard hearts, and fill us with joy and rejoicing, transforming us into channels of blessing. 

The Lord would have every one of His children rich in faith, and this faith is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit upon the mind. It dwells with each soul who will receive it, speaking to the impenitent in words of warning, and pointing them to Jesus, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. It causes light to shine into the minds of those who are seeking to co-operate with God, giving them efficiency and wisdom to do His work. 

The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted a soul who is looking to Jesus. It takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to the seeker. And if the eye is kept fixed upon Jesus, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image. Through the gracious influence of the Spirit the sinner is changed in spirit and purpose, till he becomes one with Christ. His affection for God increases; he hungers and thirsts for righteousness, and by beholding Christ he is changed from glory to glory, from character to character, and becomes more and more like his Master. Christ is formed within, and by His Spirit He fulfils the promise, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” 

— Signs of the Times, September 27, 1899 

The Response 

Dear heavenly Father, I pray for the impartation of the divine Spirit as the remedy for my sin-sick soul. Enlighten my mind to the truths of Your Word. Abide with me, O Lord. Pour out Your Spirit on Your people. Soften our hard hearts and fill us with joy and rejoicing, transform us into channels of blessing. Let Your light shine into our hearts and give us efficiency and wisdom to do Your work.