"There are many who long to help others, but they feel that they have no spiritual strength or light to impart. Let them present their petitions at the throne of grace. Plead for the Holy Spirit. God stands back of every promise He has made. With your Bible in your hands say, I have done as Thou hast said. I present Thy promise, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” COL 147.2"
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:"
The EGW passage directly quotes Matthew 7:7, emphasizing the importance of prayer and God's promises.
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
Both passages connect asking with receiving, particularly in the context of the Holy Spirit. The EGW passage encourages pleading for the Holy Spirit, while Luke 11:13 states that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. This reflects a direct principle of prayer and receiving from God.
"We must not only pray in Christ's name, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This explains what is meant when it is said that the Spirit “maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26 . Such prayer God delights to answer. When with earnestness and intensity we breathe a prayer in the name of Christ, there is in that very intensity a pledge from God that He is about to answer our prayer “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 . COL 147.3"
"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
Ellen White directly references Romans 8:26 in this passage.
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"
Ellen White directly references Ephesians 3:20 in this passage.
"Christ has said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24 . “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13 . And the beloved John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaks with great plainness and assurance: “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” 1 John 5:14, 15 . Then press your petition to the Father in the name of Jesus. God will honor that name. COL 147.4"
"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
Ellen White directly references Mark 11:24 in this passage.
"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
Ellen White directly references John 14:13 in this passage.