Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.  John 16:24.  {AG 239.1} 

Prayer is heaven's ordained means of success in the conflict with sin and the development of Christian character.  The divine influences that come in answer to the prayer of faith will accomplish in the soul of the suppliant all for which he pleads.  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; and the promise is, "Ye shall receive."  {AG 239.2} 

Our work is to strive to attain in our sphere of action the perfection that Christ in His life on the earth attained in every phase of character.  He is our example.  In all things we are to strive to honor God in character ... We are to be wholly dependent on the power that He has promised to give us.  {AG 230.5} 

Jesus revealed no qualities, and exercised no powers, that men may not have through faith in Him.  His perfect humanity is that which all His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to God as He was.  {AG 230.6} 

Desire a better country, that is, an heavenly.  Hebrews 11:16.  {TDG 271.1} 

We want to seek with all the powers that God has given us to unfold the Scriptures to those who are in darkness.  There is happiness, hope, and peace for the desponding.  We cannot afford to give our God-given ability and devote it to the commonplace things of this earth.  We want a faith that will grasp the promise set before us in the gospel.  What if we should lose our soul?  It would be better for us had we never been born.  One soul is worth more than all the gold and silver that could be heaped up on this earth ... {TDG 271.2} 

In his distress, Jacob laid hold of the angel, and held him and wrestled with him all night.  So also will the righteous, in the time of their trouble wrestle with God in prayer.  Jacob prayed all night for deliverance from the hand of Esau.  The righteous in their mental anguish will cry to God day and night for deliverance from the hands of the wicked who surround them.  Jacob confessed his unworthiness: "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant."  The righteous will have a deep sense of their shortcomings, and with many tears will acknowledge their utter unworthiness, and, like Jacob, will plead the promises of God through Christ, made to just such dependent, helpless, repenting sinners.  {ST, November 27, 1879 par. 2} 

God's promise is, "Ye shall be holy; for I am holy."  Holiness is the reflection of God's glory.  But in order to reflect this glory, we must cooperate with God.  Heart and mind must be emptied of all that leads to wrong.  The Word of God must be read and studied with a sincere desire to gain from it spiritual strength.  This Word is the Bread of heaven.  Those who receive it, and make it a part of their lives, grow strong in the strength of God.  Our sanctification is God's object in all His dealing with us.  He has chosen us from eternity, that we may be holy.  Christ declares, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification."  Is it your will, also, that your desires and inclinations shall be brought into conformity to the divine will? ... {RC 37.5} 

Living the life of the Saviour, overcoming every selfish desire, fulfilling bravely and cheerfully our duty to God and to those around us -- this makes us more than conquerors.  This prepares us to stand before the great white throne free from spot or wrinkle, having washed our robes of character, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  {RC 37.6} 

To us as to Israel the Sabbath is given "for a perpetual covenant."  To those who reverence His holy day the Sabbath is a sign that God recognizes them as His chosen people.  It is a pledge that He will fulfill to them His covenant.  Every soul who accepts the sign of God's government places himself under the divine, everlasting covenant.  He fastens himself to the golden chain of obedience, every link of which is a promise.  {6T 350.2} 

The fourth commandment alone of all the ten contains the seal of the great Lawgiver, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.  Those who obey this commandment take upon themselves His name, and all the blessings it involves are theirs.  "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel saying unto them, 'The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.'  And they shall put My Name upon the children of Israel; And I will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27.  {6T 350.3} 

God does not design that eternity shall overwhelm us and unfit us for the duties of this life, and it will never do this if we accustom our minds to dwell upon the themes of eternity and mingle them with our life duties.  The contemplation of eternal realities will not disqualify us for the duties of this life.  All the useful pursuits and activities of life are to stand revealed to us as encircled with the hallowed rainbow of promise.   {HP 307.4} 

I urge you to turn your thoughts from worldly things and center them on the things of eternity.  Christ has placed everlasting life within your reach, and He has promised to give you help in every time of need ... We should never rest satisfied with present attainments.  If we put mind and heart into the work of reaching God's ideal for us, if we go to Christ, the mighty helper, for aid, He will give us the very assistance that we need.  He will bestow on us the very power that will enable us to be victorious in the struggle against evil.  {HP 355.6} 

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  2 Peter 1:4.  {AG 235.1} 

What beauty of character shone forth in the daily life of Christ!  He is to be our pattern.  There is a great work to be done in fashioning the character after the divine similitude.  The grace of Christ must mold the entire being, and its triumph will not be complete until the heavenly universe shall witness habitual tenderness of feeling, Christlike love, and holy deeds in the deportment of the children of God.  {AG 235.2} 

We wish to repeat over and over again, until it is indelibly imprinted upon the heart, the blessed invitation, Abide in Me.  Read the Word, and in the light of a "Thus saith the Lord," meditate upon it.  Pray until the lesson and meaning of abiding in is fully learned, accompanied with its claims and its promises.  The Holy Spirit, Christ's representative, is now in our world to bring all things to our remembrance, that His claims shall not be forgotten or neglected.  Read the Word and pray.  Meditate on the Scriptures until the understanding, the gate to the door to the heart, is opened to comprehend its requirements and our dependence.  Those who will wait to hear what the Spirit saith unto them shall not hear in vain.  Fix the eye upon Christ alone in quiet waiting upon Him to hear His voice saying, "Abide in me, and I in you." ... {HP 277.3} 

But with all the rich promises of God, how many seem wholly absorbed in the things of earth.  They are all taken up with the thought of what shall we eat, what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed?  God would not have us center our minds upon the things of this world.  We are not to seek for our selfish gratification, but to center the mind upon Christ.  Are you separating yourself from everything that will separate you from God?  If you are in close connection with God you will talk of Him, you will have an abundance in your heart of the things of heaven ... {TMK 119.4} 

Text: "Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."  Isaiah 65:24.  {RH, May 27, 1884 par. 1} 

Since he has made such gracious promises, why do we not trust God?  Why do we not take him at his word?  We must have increased faith.  We must pray with our heart in our petitions, believing that God hears, and answers even while we pray.  We have received rich blessings from him in these morning meetings.  They are graced with the presence of Jesus, and we cannot afford to lose one of them.  I thank the Lord for these precious opportunities; but they will soon be in the past, and the use we have made of them will be recorded in the books of Heaven.  We have been making advancement since these meetings commenced; but while I am grateful for what has been accomplished, I long to see each of you, dear brethren, ministers of Christ, clothed with power from on high.  {RH, May 27, 1884 par. 2} 

Matthew 21:22 

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Matthew 24:6 

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.