The answer from Jehovah was, ?Get thee up; wherefore liest
thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath ... transgressed My covenant
which I commanded them.? It was a time for prompt and decided
action, and not for despair and lamentation. There was secret sin
in the camp, and it must be searched out and put away before the
presence and blessing of the Lord could be with His people. ?Neither
will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from
among you.?
God?s command had been disregarded by one of those appointed
to execute His judgments. And the nation was held accountable for
the guilt of the transgressor: ?They have even taken of the accursed
thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also.? Instruction was
given to Joshua for the discovery and punishment of the criminal.
The lot was to be employed for the detection of the guilty. The sinner
was not directly pointed out, the matter being left in doubt for a time,
[495] that the people might feel their responsibility for the sins existing
among them, and thus be led to searching of heart and humiliation
before God.

It is not only by preaching the truth, not only by distributing
literature, that we are to witness for God. Let us remember that a
Christlike life is the most powerful argument that can be advanced in
favor of Christianity, and that a cheap Christian character works more
harm in the world than the character of a worldling.?Testimonies
for the Church 9:21.
Not all the books written can serve the purpose of a holy life.
Men will believe, not what the minister preaches, but what the church
lives. Too often the influence of the sermon preached from the pulpit
is counteracted by the sermon preached in the lives of those who
claim to be advocates of truth.?Testimonies for the Church 9:21.
The life of Christ was an ever-widening, shoreless influence, an
influence that bound Him to God and to the whole human family.
Through Christ, God has invested man with an influence that makes it
impossible for him to live to himself. Individually we are connected
with our fellowmen, a part of God?s great whole, and we stand under
mutual obligations. No man can be independent of his fellow men;
for the well-being of each affects others. It is God?s purpose that
each shall feel himself necessary to others? welfare, and seek to
promote their happiness.?Christ?s Object Lessons, 339.

Mat 6:5? And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.?
Mat 6:6? But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.?
Mat 6:7? But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.?
Mat 6:8? Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.?
Mat 6:9? After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.?
Mat 6:10? Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.?
Mat 6:11? Give us this day our daily bread.?
Mat 6:12? And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.?
Mat 6:13? And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.?
Mat 6:14? For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:?
Mat 6:15? But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.?
Fasting

Mat 6:25? ?Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing??
Mat 6:26? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they??
Mat 6:27? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life??
Mat 6:28? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,?
Mat 6:29? yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.?
Mat 6:30? But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith??
Mat 6:31? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ?What shall we eat?? or ?What shall we drink?? or ?What shall we wear???
Mat 6:32? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.?
Mat 6:33? But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.?
Mat 6:34? ?Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.?

When the churches become living, working churches, the Holy
Spirit will be given in answer to their sincere request.... Then the
windows of heaven will be open for the showers of the latter rain.?
The Review and Herald, February 25, 1890.
The great outpouring of the Spirit of God, which lightens the
whole earth with His glory, will not come until we have an enlight-
ened people, that know by experience what it means to be laborers
together with God. When we have entire, wholehearted consecration
to the service of Christ, God will recognize the fact by an outpouring
of His Spirit without measure; but this will not be while the largest
portion of the church are not laborers together with God.?Christian
Service, 253 (1896).

I was shown that if God?s people make no efforts on their part,
but wait for the refreshing to come upon them and remove their
wrongs and correct their errors; if they depend upon that to cleanse
them from filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and fit them to engage
in the loud cry of the third angel, they will be found wanting.?
Testimonies For The Church 1:619 (1867).
Are we hoping to see the whole church revived? That time will
never come. There are persons in the church who are not converted,
and who will not unite in earnest, prevailing prayer. We must enter
upon the work individually. We must pray more, and talk less.?
Selected Messages 1:122 (1887).
We may be sure that when the Holy Spirit is poured out, those
who did not receive and appreciate the early rain will not see or
understand the value of the latter rain.?Testimonies to Ministers
and Gospel Workers, 399 (1896).