Bible Gem
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."--James 4:3
Question
How may we know when our prayers are self-centered?
Answer
Prayers from proud and selfish hearts: "Your pride threatens to be your ruin... your prayers...come from hearts filled with pride and selfishness."--Testimonies, vol. 2, page 176
"God cannot approve of the least degree of covetousness or selfishness, and He abhors the prayers and exhortations of those who indulge these evil traits. As Satan see that his time is short, he leads men on to be more and more selfish and covetous, and then exults as he see them wrapped up on themselves, close, penurious, and selfish."--Early Writings, page 268.
A selfish prayer: "In the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, the self-sufficient prayer, "God, you thank Thee that I am not as the rest of men,' stood out in sharp contrast to the penitent's plea, ''Be merciful to me the sinner."--Desire of Ages, page 495
"They are boastful, and pray and talk in a self-righteousness manner, exalting themselves, recounting their good deeds, and like the Pharisee, virtually thanking God that they are not as other men."--Testimonies, vol., 1, page 416
"The Pharisee's boastful, self-righteous prayer showed that his heart was closed against the influence of the Holy Spirit...He felt no need, and he received nothing."---Steps to Christ, page 31
The hope of winning commendation: "The Pharisee goes up to the temple to worship, not because he feels that he is a sinner in need of pardon, but because he thinks himself righteous and hopes to win commendation. His worship he regards as an act of merit that will recommend him to God...And he is full of self praise. He looks it, he walks it, he prays it."--Christ Object Lessons, page 150
"We must have a knowledge of ourselves, a knowledge that will result in contrition, before we can find pardon and peace. The Pharisee felt no conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit could not work with him. His soul was encased in a self-righteous armor which the arrows of God, barbed and true-aimed by angel hands, failed to penetrate.--Ibid., page 158
Behold Christ: "While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with the conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness..We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness...
"The prayer of the publican was heard because it showed dependence reaching forth to lay hold upon Omnipotence. Self to the publican appeared nothing but shame. thus it must be seen by all who seek God. By faith--faith that renounces all self-trust--the needy suppliant is to lay hold upon infinite power."--Ibid,, page 159
The peril of self--sufficiency: "The evil that led to Peter's fall and that shut out the Pharisee from communion with God is proving the ruin of thousands today. There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency."--Ibid., pages 154, 155
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."--James 4:3
Question
How may we know when our prayers are self-centered?
Answer
Prayers from proud and selfish hearts: "Your pride threatens to be your ruin... your prayers...come from hearts filled with pride and selfishness."--Testimonies, vol. 2, page 176
"God cannot approve of the least degree of covetousness or selfishness, and He abhors the prayers and exhortations of those who indulge these evil traits. As Satan see that his time is short, he leads men on to be more and more selfish and covetous, and then exults as he see them wrapped up on themselves, close, penurious, and selfish."--Early Writings, page 268.
A selfish prayer: "In the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, the self-sufficient prayer, "God, you thank Thee that I am not as the rest of men,' stood out in sharp contrast to the penitent's plea, ''Be merciful to me the sinner."--Desire of Ages, page 495
"They are boastful, and pray and talk in a self-righteousness manner, exalting themselves, recounting their good deeds, and like the Pharisee, virtually thanking God that they are not as other men."--Testimonies, vol., 1, page 416
"The Pharisee's boastful, self-righteous prayer showed that his heart was closed against the influence of the Holy Spirit...He felt no need, and he received nothing."---Steps to Christ, page 31
The hope of winning commendation: "The Pharisee goes up to the temple to worship, not because he feels that he is a sinner in need of pardon, but because he thinks himself righteous and hopes to win commendation. His worship he regards as an act of merit that will recommend him to God...And he is full of self praise. He looks it, he walks it, he prays it."--Christ Object Lessons, page 150
"We must have a knowledge of ourselves, a knowledge that will result in contrition, before we can find pardon and peace. The Pharisee felt no conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit could not work with him. His soul was encased in a self-righteous armor which the arrows of God, barbed and true-aimed by angel hands, failed to penetrate.--Ibid., page 158
Behold Christ: "While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with the conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness..We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness...
"The prayer of the publican was heard because it showed dependence reaching forth to lay hold upon Omnipotence. Self to the publican appeared nothing but shame. thus it must be seen by all who seek God. By faith--faith that renounces all self-trust--the needy suppliant is to lay hold upon infinite power."--Ibid,, page 159
The peril of self--sufficiency: "The evil that led to Peter's fall and that shut out the Pharisee from communion with God is proving the ruin of thousands today. There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency."--Ibid., pages 154, 155
