Four Things You Ought To Know - Part 2 of 2
III - PRAYER
“Prayer is the most powerful force of energy one man can generate; it’s a force as real as terrestrial gravity. When we pray we link ourselves with the inexhaustible power that swings the universe.”— Alexis Carell
1. The Certainty of Prayer
(1) God answers prayer (Ps. 65:2).
(2) Jesus promised, “Ask, and you will receive” (John 16:24).
(3) We can pray with confidence (Ps. 84:11; Heb. 4:16; Matt. 7:7-11).
(4) The Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26; Matt. 10:20).
“Grant us grace, Almighty Father, so to pray as to deserve to be
heard.”—Jane Austen
2. The Model Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13).
The 2nd century African Church father, Tertullian said of this prayer:
“How many doctrines are at once discharged in the use of the Lord’s Prayer!
The honoring of God, in the Father; the testimony of faith, in the name;
the offering of obedience, in the will;
the remembrance of hope, in the kingdom;
the petition for life, in the bread;
the confession of debts, in the prayer;
the anxious care about temptation, in the call for defence.”
3. The Method of Prayer (Matt. 6:6).
(1) The period: “when you pray” (Ps. 55:17).
(2) The place: “go to your room”
(3) The need for privacy: “when you have shut the door”
(4) The person to whom we pray: “pray to your Father”
(5) The promise: “will reward you openly”
(6) Pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:15).
(7) Pray without interruption (1 Thess. 5:17; Luke 18:1; 1 Chr. 16:11).
“Unceasing prayer is the unbroken union of the soul with God, so
that life from God flows into our life; and from our life, purity and
holiness flow back from God.”—Ellen G. White (SC 94)
4. The Conditions for Answered Prayer
(1) Exercise faith (Heb. 11:6; Matt. 11:22, 24).
(2) Submit to the will of God (1 John 5:14, 15).
(3) Pray for right things (James 4:3).
(4) Pray honestly (Ps. 66:18; Prov. 28:9; John 9:31). “It is good for us to keep some account of our prayers, that we may not unsay them in our practice.”—Matthew Henry
(5) Pray in the spirit of forgiveness (Mark 11:25).
“Prayer does not consist in battering the walls of heaven for
personal benefits or the success of our plans. Rather it is
committing of ourselves for the carrying out of His purpose. . . . It
is not bending God’s will to ours, but our wills to God’s. In prayer,
we tap vast reservoirs of spiritual power whereby God can find
fuller entrance into the hearts of men.”—G. Ashton Oldham
IV - THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
“To communicate his thoughts to men, God uses men of different
culture, character, and status to order that his word might be accessible
to all men. Inspiration safeguards individuality.”— G. F. Hawthorne
1. God gave spiritual guidance through the Gift of Prophecy (Amos 3:7).
(1) The prophetic gift necessitated by sin (Is. 59:2).
(2) The prophets were under the control of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21).
“The true prophet is one who is lifted up by the Spirit of God into
communion with Him, so that he is enabled to interpret the divine will,
and to act as a medium between God and men.”—James Hastings
2. God employed various methods to communicate His will
(1) God used angels (Heb. 1:14).
(2) His created works (Rom. 1:20; Ps. 19:1).
(3) The Urim and Thummin (Num. 27:21).
(4) The Voice of God (Matt. 3:17; 17:5).
(5) The Holy Spirit (Matt. 10:19, 20).
(6) Christ in Person (Heb. 1:1, 2).
(7) Dreams (Num. 12:6; 1 Sam. 28:6; Gen. 37, 40-41; Dan. 2:1; 4:5).
3. God provided man with principles to test the integrity of prophets
(1) The principle of fulfilled predictions (Jer. 28:9).
(2) The principle of testimony of life and works (Matt. 7:20).
(3) The principle of consistency (Is. 8:20).
(4) The principle of relationship to Jesus (1 John 4:1, 2).
4. God placed no time limit on the operation of the Gift of Prophecy
(1) The gift was still operational in N.T. times (Acts 11:27, 28; 13:1; 15:32; 1 Cor. 12:28).
(2) The gift did not cease at the close of the Scriptural Canon (Acts 2:17, 18; cf. Matt. 7:15).
(3) The gift was to be manifest in the Remnant Church (Rev. 12:17;
19:10).
5. God used both men and women in the prophetic office
(1) Old Testament: Deborah (Judg. 4:4); Huldah (2 Chr. 34:22).
(2) New Testament: Anna (Luke 2:36); Philip’s four daughters (Acts
21:8, 9).
6. God gave this gift to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the person of Ellen G. White
(1) Birth: Ellen Gould Harmon, at Gorham, Maine, November 26, 1827(died July 16, 1915).
(2) Religion: Converted from Methodism and baptized in Portland, March 1840.
(3) Marriage: James White, August 30, 1846 (died: Aug. 6, 1881).
(4) Family: 4 boys—Henry, Edson, William, John Herbert.
(5) Visions: First one, December 1844 (cf. EW, 13); Last vision, March 3, 1915.
(6) Literary Work: 23,900 pages in books; 4,500 articles.
(7) Tribute:
“This remarkable woman, though almost entirely self-educated,
has written and published more books and in more languages,
which circulate to a greater extent than the written works of any
other woman in history.”—George W. James
7. God invites respect for the manifestation of this gift (1 Thess. 5:21, 22; 2 Chr. 20:20).
“The prophet is a speaker of and for God. His words are not the
production of his own spirit, but come from a higher source. For he is
at the same time a seer, who sees things that do not lie in the domain
of natural sight, or hears things which human ears do not ordinarily
receive.”—Gene Taylor ( ISBE, IV, 2459)
