Prayer and Promises

THE PROMISE 

What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

— Matthew 7:9,11, MEV 

THE TESTIMONY 

Christ says, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” In these words, Christ gives us direction as to how we should pray. We are to come to our heavenly Father with the simplicity of a child, asking him for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says again, “When ye pray, believe that ye receive the things ye ask for, and ye shall have them.” You are to come to the Father repenting and confessing your sins, emptying the soul of every sin and defilement, and it is your privilege to prove the promises of the Lord. 

We shall have to struggle with our hereditary tendencies, that we may not yield to temptation, and become angry under provocation. I have to battle every day with things that trouble, perplex, and annoy me, and which, if I would permit, would destroy my peace. But I dare not yield to temptation; I have riveted my soul to the eternal Rock, and Christ must be my helper at every point, so that Satan may not keep me in a state of perplexity and trouble. Jesus has said, “My peace I give unto you.” As surely as we seek for the peace of Christ by faith, we shall obtain it. Jesus says, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” 

You are to come to Jesus, telling him just what you want, just what you desire; you are to present before him your need of his presence and grace, coming to him as a child comes to its parent. 

Has not Jesus said that he is our advocate? Has he not said that if we ask anything in his name, we shall receive? You are not to depend on your own goodness or good works; you are to come depending upon the Sun of righteousness. 

We are to believe the word of God... You are proved of God through the word of God. You are not to wait for wonderful emotions before you believe that God has heard you; feeling is not to be your criterion, for emotions are as changeable as the clouds. You must have something solid for the foundation of your faith. The word of the Lord is a word of infinite power upon which you may rely, and he has said, “Ask, and ye shall receive.”  

— The Review and Herald, October 11, 1892 

THE RESPONSE 

Come to your heavenly Father with the simplicity of a child asking Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Believe that you receive the things you ask for. 

Repent and confess your sins. Empty the soul of every sin and defilement, and prove the promises of the Lord. 

Tell Jesus just what you desire. Present before Him the need of His presence and grace, come to Him as a child comes to its parent. 

Believe the word, rely on the word of the Lord as the word of infinite power.