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Beginning and Closing the Sabbath With Prayer

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 26, 1911

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 43.

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Beginning and Closing the Sabbath With Prayer

By GEO. O. STATES

GEO. O. STATES
In our experience as a people, we have sometimes come to places where we could see no way of advancing the work, and our aged ministers have laid the situation before the people, and the whole denomination has sought the Lord with fasting and prayer.
In the winter of 1865 the spread of the message looked very discouraging, and our whole denomination spent the first four days of March in fasting and praying. During that time all through our ranks there was earnest seeking of the Lord and confessing of sin. Those of us who passed through that experience have always looked upon the sudden closing of the war as a direct answer to prayer. Ever since that time the nations have been held in check, and the message has made wonderful advancement. We believe God has committed to us this message, and in answer to our prayers the winds of strife are held to enable us to carry forward this work. It is a blessed thought that notwithstanding all our mistakes, the Lord accepts us when we pray and confess our sins.
In the early days of this message, it was our custom to begin the Sabbathwith prayer. “When the Sabbath begins, we should place a guard upon ourselves, upon our acts and our words, lest we rob God by appropriating to our own use that time which is strictly the Lord’s. . . . Friday is the preparation day. Time can then be devoted to making the necessary preparation for the Sabbath, and to thinking and conversing about it.”
It was also our custom to close the Sabbath with prayer. As the sun was sinking in the west, we would all gather round the family altar and close the Sabbath with earnest prayer. Many still follow the custom. Are some of us becoming careless in this respect? As the coming of the Lord draws nearer, we should be found more earnestly seeking the Lord in prayer.
Cedaredge, Colo.