STEPS TO CHRIST

By Ellen White

[as Edited into Easier English by Thompson Kay and Kenneth Wood

& Published & Copyrighted by the Christian Record of Lincoln, Nebraska]

CHAPTER ELEVEN: "The Privilege of Prayer"

God speaks to us through nature, the Bible, and the influence of the Holy Spirit. We need to tell Him our problems. To have spiritual life and energy, we must have a relationship with God. We may think about God and study His works, His mercies. His blessings; but this is not complete communication with Him. To communicate with God, we must talk to Him about the things happening in our lives.

Prayer is talking to God the same as we talk to a friend. God knows the things we need; but for us to receive Him, we must pray. Prayer does not bring God down to us; prayer brings us up to God.

When Jesus was on earth, He taught His disciples how to pray. Jesus told the disciples to tell God about their daily needs and to give God all their problems. Jesus promised them God would hear their prayers. Jesus also promises us that God will hear our prayers.

Jesus prayed often when He lived on earth. Jesus' needs were the same as our needs. Jesus asked His Father for strength to do His [the Father's] work each day. Jesus is our example in all things.

Jesus was "tempted in every way that we are [tempted]" (Hebrews 4:15). But Jesus did not sin. He hated sin. He resisted temptation. Jesus suffered when He saw the results of sin in this world. Jesus was human and needed to pray the same as we need to pray.

Jesus enjoyed talking to His heavenly Father [God]. Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus did not sin, but He needed to pray. People sin and need to pray to God.

God wants to give us His full blessing. Through prayer, we can feel God's everlasting love. We do not pray enough. God is ready and willing to hear the prayer of the humblest person. But many people are reluctant [hesitant] to tell God all their wants.

The angels of heaven wonder why people who are tempted to sin do not ask God to help them. God loves people and is ready to give them more than they ask. But most people pray only a little and have little faith.

The angels love to worship God. They love to be near Him. Talking to God and being with God gives the angels the most joy. People need help that only God can give. But people are satisfied to live without the Holy Spirit and the help God can give.

Satan stays near people who do not pray. Satan tries to get them to sin. Satan would not have power over people if they used the divine privilege of prayer. Why are God's people reluctant to pray? Prayer is the key in the hand of faith to receive God's blessings! If we do not pray often, we are in danger of sinning. Satan is always trying to break our connection with God. Satan does not want us to receive God's power and grace to resist temptation.

God has conditions [rules] to hear and answer our prayers. One rule is that we must feel we need God's help. God has promised, " I will give water to the thirsty land and make streams flow on the dry ground. " (Isaiah 44:3) People who really desire God's righteousness will receive His blessings. A person must be willing to accept the Holy Spirit's influence. Then he can receive God's blessings.

We need God's help. God wants to help, but we must ask Him to help us. God says, "Ask, and you will receive" (Matthew 7:7). God "did not even keep back His own Son, but offered Him for us all! He [God] gave us His Son---will He not also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)

The Lord will not hear us if we continue sinning. But He always hears the prayer of a person who is sorry for sin. If we confess our sin, God will answer our prayers. We can never earn God' forgiveness. Only Jesus' blood and worthiness [value] will save us. But we have to do the conditions [rules ] to be accepted.

We need faith when we pray. "No one [person] can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith hat God exists [lives] and rewards those [people] who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6) Jesus aid to His disciples, "When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for" (Mark 11;24) do we believe what Jesus says?

God is faithful to keep His promises. Sometimes God does not answer our prayers and immediately give us what we ask for. But we should still believe that God hears our prayers and will answer our prayers.

We do not know our future. Sometimes we ask for things that would not be a blessing to us. God answers our prayers by giving us what He knows is best for us. If we could know the future, we would desire what God gives us.

When we feel our prayers are not answered, we must believe God's promise. We must not give up. Later God will answer our prayer, and we will receive the blessing we need most. God does not always answer our prayers exactly as we ask. God is too wise to make a mistake. God knows what is best for us. he will not keep anything from us that is for our good.

Do not hesitate to trust God when you do not see an immediate answer to your prayers. Believe God's promise, "Ask, and you will receive."

We must have faith and not think about our doubts and fears. If we try to solve problems without faith, our problems will increase. We should tell god our needs with humble, trusting faith. God knows all things. God sees and controls all nature. God will answer our prayers. Prayer brings us close to God. We cannot see God, but He is caring for us with compassion and love. We do not feel the touch of Jesus our Saviour, but He is giving us love and mercy.

We should have love and forgive other people when we ask God for mercy and blessing. We pray, "Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us>" (Matthew 6:12) God will forgive us if we forgive other people.

God will answer our prayers if we do not stop praying too soon. We must "pray at all times." (Romans 12:12) if we really want our faith to grow. Paul wrote, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Colossians 4:2 NIV)

Peter told believers to be "alert, to be able to pray" (1 Peter 4:7). Paul says, "Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayer ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart" (Philippians 4:6). Judy said, "Jude said, "But you, my friends, ...pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and keep yourselves in the love of God" (June 20,21)

Always praying keeps us connected to God. Through prayer we receive life and power from God. God's power in our lives creates purity and holiness in our lives.

Praying is very important. We must not let anything stop us from praying. We must keep our connection with Jesus. We must go to places where people are praying. People who really want a relationship with God will go to prayer meeting. They will go where they can receive spiritual blessings.

Families should pray together. Praying publicly or in families is not enough. Each family member should pray alone. Secret prayer [praying alone] keeps our spiritual lives growing. Secret prayer are for God only to hear. Alone, a person can tell God his secret needs. Praying in faith gives the person strength to resist temptation. God is our strength.

Pray at home. When you do your daily work, pray often. Always think about God, and pray silently. Enoch always thought about God and prayed silently as he walked with God. Silent prayers are compared to incense rising to God. Satan cannot overcome a person who is always thinking about God.

No matter where we are or what we an doing, we can pray. Nothing can stop us from praying. We can pray while we are in a crowd of people. We can pray during a business deal and ask God to guide us. Nehemiah prayed while he was standing before the king of Persia. Nehemiah asked God to guide him. We can pray anywhere and anytime. WE should continually ask the Holy Spirit to live in us.

There may be evil around us, but we can still think about us, but we can still think about Jesus and be pure. We can pray. Praying will help us resist temptations. People who pray will receive the support and blessing of God. The will have continual communion with God.

We need to know Jesus better and understand the value of everlasting life in heaven. God's people are to be holy. If we want to be holy, we should ask God to help us understand more about heavenly things.

We can have a close relationship with God. Then when we have problems, we will immediately ask God for help. Asking God for help will be natural, the same way that followers turn to the sun.

Continually tell God your wants, your joys, your sorrow, your cares, and your fears. You cannot make God tired. You cannot give God to many problems. God knows the number of hairs on your head. He wants to help His people. "The Lord is full of mercy and compassion" (James 5:11).

God sympathizes with us when we tell Him about our sorrows. Tell God about all your problems. No problem is too big for God. God controls the worlds and rules the whole universe. Nothing in our lives is too small for God to notice. God sees every sin. God can solve every problem. God knows our joys and our worries. God is always ready to answer our prayers. "He [God] heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds." (Psalm 147:3)

Each person has a special relationship with God. Each relationship is separate, as if that person were the only person Jesus died for. Jesus said, "Ye shall ask in My name: ...I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you." (John 16:26, 27 KJV) "I chose you. ...And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in My name." (John 15:16)

Jesus tells us to pray in His name. Praying in Jesus' name is more than saying Jesus' name at the beginning and end of our prayer. Praying in Jesus' name is giving ourselves to His control, believing His promises, depend on His g race, and doing His work.

God does not ask us to live away from people and pray all the time. We must live the kind of life Jesus lived. Jesus prayed much. He also taught people and showed them how to lived. We are to pray and work with people. A person who only prays will soon pray without meaning.

People who stop helping people do not have anything to pray about. They do not feel they need to pray. Their prayers become selfish prayers. They do not pray for other people or for strength to do God's work.

We lose a blessing when we do not strengthen and encourage one another in the work of God. Without prayer we lose interest in the truth of God's Word We become less spiritual.

When we associate with other Christians, we lose much if we do not have sympathy for one another. The person who avoids other people is not doing God's will. Being friendly helps us have sympathy for other people and strengthens us in the work of God.

Christians should associate together talking about God's love and His plan of salvation. Talking about God will encourage us. Daily we need to learn more about God and receive His grace. Then we will want to tell about His love. AS we tell other people about God, we will receive a blessing and be encouraged. If we think and talk more about Jesus and less about ourselves, Jesus will be with us more.

We should delight to talk of God and praise Him. If we think of Jesus as often as we are blessed, we would always think about Him. We talk about things that interest us. We talk of our friend because we love them. They are part of our joys and our sorrows. But we have more reasons to love God than to love our earthy friends. If we make God most important in our thought, w will tell other people about His goodness and power.

God's wonderful gifts are to remind us of God and help us love Him more. We think too much about things on this earthy. We should think about heaven. In heaven the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus. Jesus "is able, now and always, to save those [people] who come to God through Him [Jesus]" (Hebrews 7:25)

We need to "thank the Lord for His constant love, [and] for the wonderful things He did" (Psalm 107:8) Our prayers should be more than asking for something. We should think of the benefits we receive. We should thank God for His blessings. We continually receive God's blessings. But we do not thank God as often as we should. WE do not praise Him enough for what He has done for us.

God told the people of Israel when they met together, "in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to [do], because the Lord your God has blessed you" (Deuteronomy 12:7, NIV)

When we work for God we should be cheerful; we should sing songs of praise and thanksgiving. We should not be sad or unhappy when we do God's work.

Our God is a kind, merciful Father. Working for Him should be a happy experience. Worshipping God and doing His work should be a pleasure. God has given His people salvation. He does not want us to think He is a mean ruler. God is our best friend. When we worship God, he is with us to bless and comfort us and fill us with joy and love.

God wants us to enjoy His work. He wants us to be happy to serve Him. He does not want us to think working for Him is difficult. God is our best friend.

When we worship God, He plans to be with us. He plans to bless and comfort us. God plans to fill our harts with joy and love. God wants us to have happy thoughts of His love and care. These thoughts should bring cheer to our daily work and give us grace to be honest and faithful.

We should think and talk often about Jesus' dying on the cross for us. We should think and talk about every blessing God gives us. When we realize God's great love, we should be willing to trust everything to Jesus. Jesus' hands were nailed to the cross for us.

Praise takes us closer to heaven spiritually. Angels in heaven worship God with song and music. When we express our thankfulness to God, we are worshipping Him the same as the angels.. "Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honors Me [Jesus]" (Psalm 50:23.

Let us worship God with joy, and with "thanksgiving and the voice of melody" (Isaiah 51:3, KJV)

NOTE: All verses were from "Today's English Version"

by the American Bible Society, unless noted otherwise.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ORDER A COPY OF THIS WHOLE BOOK,

GO TO STEPS TO CHRIST

Use the "Back Button" to Return to the Last Page or