Lecture Sialkot — Page 48
48 L ECTURE S IALKOT ashes, and grant him such power that he may be able to overcome all carnal passions. He should keep im- ploring God until the time comes when a Divine light descends upon his heart and a bright ray falls upon his being to dispel all darkness to eliminate his weak- nesses and to bring about a righteous change in him, for prayer undoubtedly has great power. If the dead can be brought back to life it is only through prayer; if captives can win freedom it is only through prayer; if the impure are to be purified it can only be done through prayer. But to pray is akin to dying. The third condition is to keep the company of the righteous and the perfect ones because one lamp lights another. These are the only three ways of achieving emancipa- tion from sin, and when these three conditions are met, they are ultimately blessed with Divine grace. Otherwise, we would only be deceiving ourselves by imagining that we have attained freedom from sin by our belief in redemption through the blood of Jesus. The fact is that man has been created for a much greater purpose. Mere abstinence from sin is no great achievement. So many animals do not commit any sin, can they claim to be perfect? Can we expect to be rewarded by a person just because we have done him no harm? No, indeed, it is the sincerely rendered ser- vices which make one deserving of reward. The service man has to render towards God is to belong to