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Commentary on "The Promise of Prayer"
Day 7: Friday, March 9, 2012 - Further Study
Today’s lesson consists entirely of Ellen G. White quotes. This again affirms the fact that she is a foundational pillar within Adventism and those who claim otherwise are deceiving themselves and others. We believe that her writings must be entirely rejected by Christians. The only reason a Christian should ever read her writings is for the purpose of educating others by revealing the heresy within her teachings. We believe that the writings of Ellen G. White are supernaturally inspired for the purpose of presenting one of the best crafted and deceptive false gospels we are aware of. A surfaced reading of her poetic and creative writing, neatly packaged with proof texts from the word of God, can leave a reader wondering why we would take such a strong stand. However, when the reader is educated on the unique Adventist definitions of widely used Christian phrases coupled with a clear understanding of the Adventist version of the Trinity and their Great Controversy world view, our stand will become clear in the light of Truth.
If you find yourself questioning Seventh-day Adventism, and longing to know what is true, then we strongly encourage you to stop reading E.G.W. and trust scripture alone to reveal the truth about God. If scripture confuses you, pray that God would teach you, through the Holy Spirit, what He wants you to know. How can you go wrong by only relying on God and His word?
A few comments regarding the quotes used:
“Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted, and the health of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the Well-spring of life, and strengthens the sinew and muscle of the religious experience.”—Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, pp. 254, 255.
This quote is a wonderful example of the type of poetic language used by Ellen G. White to elicit an emotional response. Ellen G. White is considered an authoritative source of truth (fundamental belief 18). When she writes about spiritual practices, it is not done merely as a devotional writer, but as an authority of what is true and real. Stating that prayer is the “breath of the soul” doesn’t really say anything, but it accomplishes a deeper purpose. The fact that Ellen G. White teaches a false definition of the soul/spirit, claiming that spirit is merely breath, is important to remember here. Her use of these words as metaphors for prayer makes it possible for the Adventist reader to then understand the terms in scripture as metaphors as well. After all, Ellen G. White defines the terms and explains God’s word.
So let’s look at what she is teaching here in this short quote. Prayer is a “secret spiritual power” which is our only means of grace for the preservation of our soul. This explains the conclusions of the quarterly’s author when she teaches earlier in the week that without prayer we would crumble and die. First of all, we do not have power, God has power and it isn’t for sale. Nor do we produce grace. Grace is entirely of God and given and applied by Him as He wills. The teaching here is that prayer is our means of acquiring grace to maintain our position before God. This is not what scripture teaches. Scripture teaches us that God is the source of our salvation in every way.
- God draws us to the source of our salvation-- His son Jesus Christ: John 6:44
- He grants us repentance: Acts 11:18
- He gives us faith to believe: Eph. 2:8, Rom. 12:3
- He causes us to be born of the Spirit: Eph. 1:13-14, 1 Peter 1:3, John 1:12
- He keeps us in salvation: Eph 1:13-14, 1 Peter 1:3-5, Jude 1:1
Christ calls us, saves us and keeps us. Period. All we have to do is respond to Him. We accept Him as He is and not as man represents Him to us. Furthermore, since born again believers are in indwelt by the Holy Spirit, prayer is not about pleading for His power. It is how we communicate with the Father. Even in prayer we are not left to our own best effort:
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." Romans 8:26
All we will say about the quote from Steps to Christ is that our prayers and our lives are for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, not for the purpose of seeking after and waiting for a blessing. The entire premise of her teaching here is that if we are not receiving a particular blessing it is because it isn’t the best blessing for us. It makes prayer completely about us.
What we long for you to understand is that this isn’t about us guys, it is completely about YAHWEH. We pray initially because we are wretched and in need of a savior. We repent before a Holy God and believe in the One He sent to rescue us. He adopts us into His family and then we pray as His redeemed and accepted Children. Prayer keeps us in honest fellowship with our Father but it does not keep us righteous. One of the ways we take up our role in the family of God is that we act as a priestly kingdom praying for that which He calls us to pray for in His word. It is shocking to us that in a study meant to reveal “Glimpses of God” never once does the author spend time in the week assigned to prayer, teaching about the things our Holy Father longs for us to pray about. The New Testament is full of commands about how and what to pray for. These commands are a part of the commandments of Jesus that our Lord tells His desciples to go unto the nations and teach the people. However, because they are not outlined in the decalogue of the Old Covenant, they just don’t get the play time in Adventist studies. Instead the week is all about how to pray in a way that keeps us saved, and provides us with our desired outcome. This is just heartbreaking.
Please read your Bible and ask the Lord to reveal the error of Adventism to you as you read His Holy words. He is faithful.
Copyright 2012 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised March 8, 2012. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Camp Verde, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.
Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 10
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 10
Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Wk 10
Search the Complete Published Ellen G. White Writings
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