For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11.
We have a wise, loving heavenly Father, who hears the prayers of His children. But He does not always give them what they desire. He withholds that which He sees would not be for their good. But He bestows on them all that they need. He gives them that which is necessary for growth in grace. When we pray, we should say, “Lord, if what I ask for is for my good, give it to me; but if it is not, withhold it, but give me Thy blessings.” The Lord hears our petitions; He understands our situation, and He will supply the very thing we need. He will strengthen our faith and increase our spirituality. The Lord is good and merciful, perfect in understanding and infinite in wisdom.
There are those who pray for temporal blessings which they think will bring them worldly prosperity. God sees that such blessings would spoil their spiritual life. He gives them an understanding mind, showing them that it is not best for them to have riches, and that they must be satisfied with His grace and peace and love.
God, who knows the end from the beginning, jealously guards the welfare of His children. In answering their prayers, He will give them that which will be continually fitting them to be partakers of the divine nature, and to overcome the corruption that is in the world through lust. We must submit our will to God’s will. We must have confidence in His love, His wisdom, His faithfulness, His keeping power.
The Lord has instructed me that the time has come when there should be unity in the ranks of His people. If there are those who have not faith in the messages that have come to us from God by His Word and by the testimonies of His Spirit, they need to know for themselves what is the faith once delivered unto the saints. The representations made show that there are some who have lost their bearing...
Christ’s ministry is to be the ministry of His followers. To branch off into spiritualistic ideas is to depart from the faith, giving heed to doctrines of deception.
The messages that God has given through His servant John are now to be proclaimed as of special importance. This is our work—to revive the sacred truths that called us out from the world and made us what we are. We are not to yield up one feature of the faith, but are to hold our confidence firm unto the end. We are to give no place to doctrines that are not in harmony with the truth for this time.—Letter 270, December 21, 1903, to Edson White.
Reference: E.G. White, "The Upward Look," p. 369.
