The Science of Faith and Prayer ?

Bible -Psalms_119-105     “The science of Redemption* is the science of all sciences; the science that is the study of the angels and of all the intelligences of the unfallen worlds; the science that engages the attention of our Lord and Saviour; the science that enters into the purpose brooded in the mind of the Infinite  –“kept in silence through times eternal” Romans 16:25.

Redemption = to ransom in full, Salvation, deliverance, separation from sin, reversal of decree, to loosen, and Atonement !

Prayer and faith are closely allied, and they need to be studied together. In the prayer of faith there is a Divine science; it is a science that everyone who would make his lifework a success must understand. Christ says, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24.

For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for a Christ-like temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift He has Promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive, and return thanks to God that we have received ! . . .

The science that will be the study of God’s redeemed throughout endless ages. This is the highest study in which it is possible for man to engage. As no other study can, it will quicken the mind and uplift the soul.

“The excellency of knowledge is this, that Wisdom giveth Life to them that have it . . .” and, “The Words that I speak unto you,” said Jesus, “they are Spirit, and they are Life !” For “this is Life Eternal, that they might know Thee, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent !” Ecclesiastes 7:12; John 6:63; 17:3

– Education p.126

Through faith in Christ, every deficiency of character may be supplied, every defilement cleansed, every fault corrected, every excellence developed. For “Ye are complete in Him !” Colossians 2:10.

Prayer and faith are closely allied, and they need to be studied together. In the prayer of faith there is a Divine science; it is a science that everyone who would make his lifework a success must understand. Christ says, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24.

He makes it plain that our asking must be according to God’s will; we must ask for the things that He has Promised, and whatever we receive must be used in doing His will. The conditions met, the Promise is unequivocal !

For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for a Christlike temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift He has Promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive, and return thanks to God that we have received !

We need look for no outward evidence of the Blessing. The gift is in the Promise, and we may go about our work assured that what God has Promised He is able to perform, and that the gift, which we already possess, will be realized when we need it most. To live thus by the Word of God means the surrender to Him of the whole life. There will be felt a continual sense of need and dependence, a drawing out of the heart after God. Prayer is a necessity; for it is the life of the soul . . . !”
– Education p.258

The mind should be educated to exercise faith rather than to cherish doubt and suspicion and jealousy. We are too prone to look at obstacles as impossibilities.

To have faith in the Promises of God, to walk forward by faith, pressing on without being governed by circumstances, is a lesson hard to learn. Yet it is a positive necessity that every child of God learn this lesson. The Grace* of God through Christ is to be ever cherished; for it is given to us as the only way of approaching God.

For without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He Is, and that He Is (I Am) a Rewarder of all those that diligently seek Him . . . !”                        Hebrews 11:6

Faith in the Words of God, spoken by Christ enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, would have enabled the child-ren of Israel to leave a record of a very different character. Their lack of faith in God gave them a very checkered history.”
– MS 43, 1898.  {2MCP 533.4}

“This lesson we also have to learn. Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust in His Promises. When we come to Him in faith, every petition enters the heart of God. When we have as-ked for His Blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the Blessing will be realized when we need it most.

When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us “exceeding abundantly,” “according to the riches of His glory,” and “the working of His mighty power.” Ephesians 3:20, 16; 1:19.
– Desire of Ages p.200

“How to exercise faith should be made very plain. To every Promise of God there are conditions. If we are willing to do His will, all His strength is ours. Whatever gift He promises, is in the Promise itself.   “The Seed is the Word of God !” Luke 8:11. As surely as the oak is in the acorn, so surely is the gift of God in His Promise. If we receive the Promise in faith, we have the gift.

Faith that enables us to receive God’s gifts is itself a gift, of which some measure is imparted to every human being. It grows as exercised in appropriating the Word of God. In order to strengthen faith, we must often bring it in contact with the Word.

In the study of the Bible the student should be led to see the power of God’s Word. In the creation, “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood (stands) fast !” He “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Psalm 33:9; Romans 4:17); for when He calls them, they are !

How often those who trusted the Word of God, though in themselves utterly helpless, have withstood the power of the whole world . . . !”    – Education p.253-254

“The creative energy that called the worlds into existence is in the Word of God. This Word imparts power; it begets Life. Every command is a Promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the Life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and re-creates the soul in the image of God.

The Life thus imparted is in like manner sustained. “By every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4) shall man live. The mind, the soul, is built up by that upon which it feeds; and it rests with us to determine upon what it shall be fed.

     It is within the power of everyone to choose the topics that shall occupy the thoughts and shape the character. Of every human being privileged with access to the Scriptures, God says, “I have written to him the great things of My law.” “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not !” Hosea 8:12; Jeremiah 33:3.
– Education p.126

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