«Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving» (Colossians 4:2).
IT WAS Pastor Walter Weiss who called me to the when I finished my theology career, was my first president, and I will always have an immense gratitude and commitment. Not just for the call but for inspiring us to a faithful and selfless ministry. It was he who wrote the history of the origins of the Balcarce Adventist Institute, in the southern part of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In his book A Great Challenge Come True, he recounts the years of effort, struggles, and perseverance in prayer.
After a thorough search and fervent prayer, they came up with what seemed to be the best option. For this, they had to interview the agronomist Carlos Alberto Del Tortto. The entrance sign to the place read «Higher Rock»
The engineer was surprised by the idea of establishing an Adventist college with a boarding school. He heard the word «Adventist» for the first time in his life. He finally set a price on the property at 350 thousand dollars. The next day he had to travel to the South Pacific islands, so they agreed to the sale transaction within three weeks.
The property was purchased and the Balcarce Adventist Institute was built there, a school that continues to train young people to fulfill the mission. Pastor Heriberto Muller was appointed promoter and project manager. And it was this friend, who today rests in the promises of the Lord, who persevered in prayer, providing a faithful and selfless service, and because of his love for young people, he became the first director of the institution.
Those days were days of intense prayer. When they met again, the landowner recounted with astonishment that on his trip to the Pacific Islands he had visited Fulton Adventist College in Fiji, and that he had seen a choir, orchestra, and band of students perform very good music there. Because of this, he offered a discount of fifty thousand dollars.
Paul says we should be vigilant in prayer. That is, to persist, to continue firmly, to attend continually, and to persevere.
Ellen G. White tells us that in some cases the answers to our prayers come immediately. But other times we have to wait patiently and continue to plead for the things we need. «We are to keep on asking, even if we do not realize the immediate response to our prayers» (Counsels on Health, p. 380).
God wants to lift us up and lead us to a “higher rock,” because the purpose of persevering prayer is not that man’s will is done in heaven, but that God’s will is done on earth.
