Order by A. P. Lawton

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 15, 1863

Order.

By A. P. Lawton

HEAVEN is a place of order. To be prepared for it, and enjoy its order, we must acquire a relish for it here; especially should we observe order in our devotions. By this we do not infer a Pharisaical, dead formality, or a tedious round of ceremonies; but we should have stated seasons of prayer in the closet there to draw spiritual consolation and heavenly food, and observe them with as much care as we do our meals. We can no more possess a healthy condition of mind without the former, than corporeal health and strength without the latter. If the proper time slips by without prayer, other duties having their appropriate place and time, prayer must be attended with confusion, if not neglected entirely.

We have a vigilant foe, and we must be sober and vigilant, and watch unto prayer. If we are fitful and irregular in our prayers, and do not pray unless we feel like it, we shall be fitful and uncertain in our experience. That our prayers may not be set and formal, we must believe when we enter our closets that we are in the presence of God, and confess all our wrongs, in full confidence that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

A. P. Lawton. West Winfield, N. Y.