Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness. Psalm 119:40.

“Given by inspiration of God,” “able to make thee wise unto salvation,” rendering “the man of God … perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”—the Book of books has the highest claims to our reverent attention. Superficial study of the Word of God cannot meet the claims it has upon us nor furnish us with the benefit that is promised…. To read daily a certain number of chapters, or to commit to memory a stipulated amount of Scripture, without careful thought as to the meaning of the text, will profit but little.

To study one passage until its significance is clear to the mind and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained. We cannot obtain wisdom from the Word of God without giving earnest and prayerful attention to its study. It is true that some portions of Scripture are, indeed, too plain to be misunderstood, but there are many portions whose meaning cannot be seen at a glance, for the truth does not lie upon the surface….

No study is better to give energy to the mind, to strengthen the intellect, than the study of the Word of God. No other book is so potent in elevating the thoughts, in giving vigor to the faculties, as is the Bible, which contains the most ennobling truths. If God’s Word were studied as it should be, we would see breadth of mind, stability of purpose, nobility of character, such as is rarely seen in these times….

Of all the books that flood the world, however valuable, the Bible is the Book of books, most deserving of our study and admiration. It gives not only the history of this world but a description of the world to come. It contains instruction concerning the wonders of the universe; it reveals to our understanding the character of the Author of the heavens and the earth….

The one who studies the Bible holds converse with patriarchs and prophets. Contact is made with truth clothed in elevated language, which exerts a fascinating power over the mind and lifts the thoughts from the things of earth to the glory of the future immortal life. What human wisdom can compare with the revelation of the grandeur of God?—Signs of the Times, January 30, 1893.

From From the Heart

Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us? Luke 24:32.

After Christ’s death two disciples, on their way to Emmaus from Jerusalem, were talking over the scenes of the crucifixion. Christ Himself drew near, unrecognized by the sorrowing travelers. Their faith had died with their Lord, and their eyes, blinded by unbelief, did not recognize their risen Savior. Jesus, walking by their side, longed to reveal Himself to them, but He accosted them merely as fellow travelers, saying “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?” Astonished at the question, they asked if He were a stranger in Jerusalem and had not heard that a prophet, mighty in word and deed, had been crucified. “We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel,” they said, sadly.

“O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken,” Christ said; “ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” …

The disciples had lost sight of the precious promises linked with the prophecies of Christ’s death, but when these were brought to their remembrance, faith revived; and after Christ had revealed Himself to them, they exclaimed, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” …

If we would search the Scriptures, our hearts would burn within us as the truths revealed therein are opened to our understanding. Our hopes would brighten as we claim the precious promises strewn like pearls through the Sacred Writings. As we study the history of patriarchs and prophets, men who loved and feared God, walking with Him, our souls would glow with the spirit that animated them….

The question is asked, What is the cause of the dearth of spiritual power in the churches? The answer is, We allow our minds to be drawn away from the Word…. The Word of the living God is not merely written, but spoken. It is God’s voice speaking to us, just as surely as if we could hear it with our ears. If we realized this, with what awe we would open God’s Word, and with what earnestness we would search its pages.—The Review and Herald, March 31, 1903.

From From the Heart

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3.

Prayer to the Great Physician for the healing of the soul brings the blessing of God. Prayer unites us one to another and to God. Prayer brings Jesus to our side and gives new strength and fresh grace to the fainting, perplexed soul. By prayer the sick have been encouraged to believe that God will look with compassion upon them. A ray of light penetrates to the hopeless soul and becomes a savor of life unto life. Prayer has “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire”—we shall know what this means when we hear the reports of the martyrs who died for their faith—“turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

We shall hear about these victories when the Captain of our salvation, the glorious King of heaven, opens the record before those of whom John writes, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” …

Christ our Savior was tempted in all points like as we are, yet He was without sin. He took human nature, being made in fashion as a man, and His necessities were the necessities of mankind….

Prayer went before and sanctified every act of His ministry. He communed with His Father till the close of His life; and when He hung upon the cross, there arose from His lips the bitter cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Then in a voice which has reached to the very ends of the earth, He exclaimed, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” … The night seasons of prayer which the Savior spent in the mountain or in the desert were essential to prepare Him for the trials He must meet in the days to follow….

All things are possible to those that believe. No one coming to the Lord in sincerity of heart will be disappointed. How wonderful it is that we can pray effectually, that unworthy, erring mortals possess the power of offering their requests to God! … We utter words that reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe.—The Review and Herald, October 30, 1900.

From From the Heart

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Ephesians 6:18.

We are not always so situated that we can enter into our closets to seek God in prayer, but there is no time or place in which it is inappropriate to offer up a petition to God. There is nothing that can hinder us from lifting up our hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street, in the midst of a business engagement, we may send up a petition to God and plead for divine guidance, as did Nehemiah when he made his request before the king Artaxerxes. A closet of communion may be found wherever we are. We should have the door of the heart open continually and our invitation going up that Jesus may come and abide as a heavenly guest in our souls.

Although there may be a tainted, corrupted atmosphere around us, we need not breathe its miasma but may live in the pure atmosphere of heaven. We may close every door to impure imaginings and unholy thoughts by lifting the soul into the presence of God through sincere prayer. Those whose hearts are open to receive the support and blessing of God will walk in a holier atmosphere than that of earth and will have constant communion with God…. The heart is to be continually going out in desire for the presence and grace of Jesus, that the soul may have divine enlightenment and heavenly wisdom.

We need to have more distinct views of Jesus, and a fuller comprehension of the value of eternal realities. The beauty of holiness is to fill the hearts of God’s people, and that this may be accomplished, we should seek for divine disclosures of heavenly things….

We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts may turn to God as naturally as the flower turns to the sun. The sunflower keeps its face sunward. If it is turned from the light, it will twist itself on the stem until it lifts up its petals to the bright beams of the sun. So let everyone who has given the heart to God turn to the Sun of Righteousness and eagerly look up to receive the bright beams of the glory that shine in the face of Jesus….

The Lord is under no obligation to grant us His favors, yet He has pledged His word that if we will comply with the conditions stated in the Scriptures, He will fulfill His part of the contract. Men and women often make promises but do not live up to them. Often we have found that in trusting others we have leaned upon broken reeds; but the Lord will never disappoint the soul that believes in Him.—Signs of the Times, December 16, 1889.

From From the Heart

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. Psalm 34:15.

When Jesus was upon earth, and walked a man among the children of humanity, He prayed, and oh, how earnest were His prayers! How often He spent the whole night upon the damp, cold ground, in agonizing supplication! And yet He was the beloved and sinless Son of God. If Jesus felt the necessity of communion with His Father and manifested so much earnestness in calling upon Him, how much more should we, whom He has called to be heirs of salvation, who are subject to the fiery temptations of the wily foe and dependent upon divine grace for strength to overcome, have our whole souls stirred to wrestle with God….

Satan is ever ready to insinuate that prayer is a mere form and avails us nothing. He cannot bear to have his powerful rival appealed to. At the sound of fervent prayer, the hosts of darkness tremble. Fearing that their captives may escape, they form a wall around them, that Heaven’s light may not reach their souls. But if in their distress and helplessness they look to Jesus, pleading the merits of His blood, their compassionate Redeemer listens to the earnest, persevering prayer of faith and sends to their deliverance a reinforcement of angels that excel in strength. And when these angels, all-powerful, clothed with the armory of heaven, come to the help of the fainting, pursued souls, the angels of darkness fall back, well knowing that their battle is lost, and that more souls are escaping from the power of their influence….

If you expect salvation, you must pray. Take time. Be not hurried and careless in your prayers. Intercede with God to work in you a thorough reformation, that the fruits of the Spirit may dwell in you, and that, by your godly life, you may shine as a light in the world….

Take time to pray. And as you pray, believe that God hears you; have faith mixed with your prayers. Let faith take hold of the blessing, and it is yours….

Every petition that is offered to God in faith and with a true heart will be answered. Such prayer is never lost; but to claim that it will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire is presumption. God is too wise to err and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly.—Signs of the Times, November 18, 1886.

From From the Heart