General Conference Bulletin, vol. 5

A PRAYER FOR PARDON AND HELP

Prayer Offered by Mrs. E. G. White, Tuesday Morning, March 31

Our heavenly Father, we come to Thee this morning just as we are, needy and wholly dependent upon Thee. Help us to have a clear knowledge of what we must be, and of the characters that we must form, in order that we may be prepared to unite with the heavenly family in the city of our God. We ask Thee that Thou wilt remove the reproach that has come upon Thee through the neglect of those who profess to be Thy people, but who have not walked in Thy counsel. Lord, help us to understand our individual responsibilities, that our hearts may be worked by the Holy Spirit. We ask Thee that Thou wilt open blind eyes, that they may see; to enlighten the darkened understanding, that all may understand that there must be a reconversion, that hearts must break before God. Give us hearts of repentance, hearts of humiliation. O my Father, how can we proclaim They goodness, and Thy mercy, and Thy love, unless we cherish them in our own hearts, and reveal them in our own experiences? Thou knowest how Thou hast presented this matter to Thy servant. Thou knowest what a dishonor it has been to Thee because Thy people have failed to come to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and to obey Thy commandments. GCB April 2, 1903, page 56.3

Let not Thy wrath come upon Thy people while they are in their sins, unconverted and unsaved. Here are Thy ministers, whose work it is to proclaim Bible truth. I ask Thee that they may have a clear realization of the responsibilities that rest upon them as guardians and as shepherds of Thy flock. Roll upon them the burden that they should bear for those who are out of the truth. Let them understand their own weakness, and may the sanctification of the Spirit come to them. May there be a purifying of character and a breaking of heart before God. Thou canst show them that while they cherish their own dispositions and temperaments, Thou canst not work through them by the Holy Spirit, because they would become lifted up. Thou canst show them that there is a work to be done in their own hearts. GCB April 2, 1903, page 56.4

Here are those who bear responsibilities in our institutions. Thou hast signified that Thou hast been displeased with their ministration. They have not in their dealings given a right example to the world. They did not realize that men were taking knowledge of them, to see whether they were sanctified by the truth. GCB April 2, 1903, page 56.5

Oh, pardon our transgressions, and forgive our sins! Show us where we have come short. Let Thy Holy Spirit descend upon us. The world is perishing in sin, and we ask Thee to roll the burden upon us at this meeting. We desire to be weighted down with the Holy Spirit. We desire to stand where Thou canst reveal Thyself to us. Take away our hardness of heart, and give us softened hearts. I ask Thee, for Christ’s sake, that Thou wouldst give understanding, that Thou wouldst give spiritual knowledge, that Thou wouldst give sensitive hearts, that all may see that it is high time to open the door of the heart to Jesus. Thou hast said that Thou hast heard the many words of complaint, and faultfinding, and murmuring, brother against brother, and friend against friend. Thou hast heard these words, and they are written in Thy book. They have stood as a block against the wheel of salvation, hindering its advancement. Convert Thy people in this the day of Thy preparation, that the time may not come when they will say, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” GCB April 2, 1903, page 56.6

Thou hast opened these things before me, and Thou alone canst prepare minds and hearts to hear the message that unless those who have left their first love shall return to recognize the work that needs to be done in their individual hearts, Thou wilt come quickly and remove the candlestick out of his place. Open the eyes of Thy people that they may see their deficiencies. We do not want one to be separated from the work. We do not want one to perish. We ask Thee that Thou wilt move upon hearts by the quickening influence of Thy Spirit, that there may be a break in this meeting such as has not been before. Oh, the break must come, if the Spirit of God shall take hold of hearts! GCB April 2, 1903, page 56.7

O my Father, shall this meeting close and we go back to our places with the same hard hearts? We must be reconverted, sanctified, and made fit to bear the message of the Lord. Cleanse the vessel, that the message that shall be given shall not taste so strongly of the dish that those to whom it is given shall have no appetite to partake of it. Let Thy melting mercy come upon us. Work in the midst of us with Thy power and with Thy love and with Thy majesty and glory. Put to shame the listlessness of those who have not come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Sweep back the cloud of darkness and unbelief. GCB April 2, 1903, page 56.8

Let the Holy Spirit come into our hearts and break down every barrier. Thou King of glory, look upon ‘Thy people in these closing scenes of this earth’s history. It seems as if nothing could arouse many of them to realize that they are on the very eve of the day of God, that His judgments are in the land. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.1

Wilt Thou hear our petition! Wilt Thou answer our petition! Wilt Thou reveal Thyself to us! May we behold Thy glory, and be changed into Thine image. We thirst for the waters of Lebanon, and we hunger for the bread of life. We ask Thee to break our hearts to-day. We ask Thee to help us to put away our sinful thoughts, our disparagement of one another, and to seek the Lord while He may be found. My Father, break down the barriers, that confessions may be made, from heart to heart, from brother to brother. May the Spirit of God come in; and Thy blessed name shall have all the glory. Amen. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.2

ANOTHER EARNEST PRAYER

No Authorcode

In the season of prayer following Elder Daniells’ remarks during the devotional service Wednesday morning. April 1, Sister White united, praying as follows:— GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.3

Heavenly Father, Thou hast said, “Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Heavenly Father, we need Thy Holy Spirit. We do not want to work ourselves, only as we work in unity with God. We want to be in a position where the Holy Spirit of God shall be upon us with its reviving, sanctifying power. Wilt Thou manifest Thyself unto us this very morning! Wilt Thou sweep away every mist and every cloud of darkness! GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.4

We come to Thee, our compassionate Redeemer; and we ask Thee, for Christ’s sake,—for Thine own Son’s sake, my Father, that Thou wilt manifest Thy power unto Thy people here. We want wisdom; we want righteousness; we want truth; we want the Holy Spirit to be with us. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.5

Thou hast presented before us a great work that must be carried forward in behalf of those that are in the truth, and in behalf of those that are in ignorance of our faith; and O Lord, as Thou hast given to every man his work, we beseech of Thee that the Holy Spirit may impress the human mind in regard to the burden of work that shall rest upon every individual soul, according to Thine appointment. We want to be proved; we want to be sanctified through and through; we want to be fitted up for the work; and here, right here in this session of the Conference, we want to see a revelation of the Holy Spirit of God. We want light, Lord,—Thou art the Light. We want truth, Lord,—Thou art the Truth. We want the right way,—Thou art the Way. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.6

Lord, I beseech of Thee that we may all be wise enough to discern that we must individually open the heart to Jesus Christ, that through the Holy Spirit He may come in to mold and fashion us anew, in accordance with the divine image. O my Father, my Father! melt and subdue our hearts. We desire this morning to make an entire surrender to Thee; we desire to give up our will, our way, our course of action that has not been in harmony with the way and the will of God; we desire to accept the Lord’s way, the Lord’s will, the Lord’s counsel. Come, oh, come into the midst of us this very morning, and move upon hearts, young and old. In a special manner move upon the hearts of those who are handling gospel truths, that they may all be lighted up with the bright beams which Thou dost permit to shine upon Thy Word, in order that Thy instruction may come to the human understanding with the power and the Spirit of the living God. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.7

We acknowledge before Thee that we have not honored Thy name as we should. We acknowledge before Thee that we need to be broken in heart. We desire just now to be reconverted; we desire just now to realize what Christ is to us, and what we are and can be to Him as His co workers,—“laborers together with God.” GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.8

O my Father, let every soul that is confused, every soul that can not understand and see the way, have the way presented before him so clearly that the mist will be removed, and that the cloud will pass, so that the. Sun of righteousness may shine into the chambers of the mind and into the soul-temple. Wash us, and we shall be clean, Lord. Let melting mercy, mercy from Thee, come into every heart; and then, when we realize the melting mercy of a compassionate and loving Saviour, our hearts, once more united, will beat in unison, and all will stand shoulder to shoulder in advancing this great work. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.9

We can not afford to be indifferent, Lord, we can not afford to work contrary to one another. We must trust in Thee; and we ask, this very morning, that Thou shalt let the Holy Spirit descent upon us. We are ready to receive the Comforter; we open the door of the heart, and invite the Saviour in. We love Thee, dear Saviour; Thou knowest that we love Thee. We see in Thee matchless charms, and we desire that every soul shall constantly look unto Thee,—Thou who art the Author and the Finisher of our faith. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.10

Come, Lord Jesus, come and take us as we are, and put upon us the robe of Thy righteousness. Take away our sins. Our Saviour, Thou didst come to the earth to do this. We repent of wrong-doing; we are sorry for every departure from Thee; and we ask Thee to pardon our transgressions, that we may show to the world that we have a Saviour who is able to take away our sins, and to impute unto us His own righteousness. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.11

Lord, we accept Thee now; we receive Thee now; we believe in Thee now; and we ask Thee to let Thy Holy Spirit rest upon us just now. Just now walk through this house, we pray Thee; and may the angels accompanying Thee go around to every seat, and to every heart; and may every person have a realization of what “I” should do. May every one look not to man, but to Christ,—to Him who has died to save us. We are saved by Thee, Lord; we look to Thee, Lord. Oh, let Thy power come upon us, to tell us that our sins are pardoned. Thou hast promised, “A new heart will I give thee.” We desire to have our hearts renewed, Lord; we long for this. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.12

Bless our ministering brethren. Bless all those who are in office in our institutions. We do not want Thee to destroy these institutions: we do not want to see their influence wiped away. We want that Thou shouldst simply take away everything that is wrong in the heart, the life, the character, of each worker, so that Thou canst use every institution of Thine own planting to glorify Thy name. We need every one of them. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.13

O my Saviour, Thou who hast shown compassion to us all, again we ask Thee to grant unto us a rich portion of Thy mercy. Thy fulness, Thy compassion, Thy everlasting love. Come, Lord Jesus, and make us partakers of Thy divine nature, that we may overcome the corruption that is in the world through lust. Oh, may the Spirit of Christ, the love of God, comfort every heart this morning! Banish darkness, turn away the deceptive powers of the enemy, and let Thy voice and Thy Spirit and Thy love come into our souls, that we may sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus; and Thy name shall have all the glory. Amen. GCB April 2, 1903, page 57.14

Following this prayer, Sister White spoke on “Unity of Effort.” GCB April 2, 1903, page 58.1