18. "Must I not pray through until I get the witness that I am saved?”

Nowhere in the Bible are people told they must pray to be saved. It is true that the natural expression of an awakened and anxious soul is prayer. But there is no such thing in Scripture as "praying through" in order to be saved. What is required is that the convicted sinner believe the gospel. Suppose you went home tired and hungry, and said to your wife, "Will you please let me have supper as early as possible?" She complies at once and sets the table, calling you to come and partake of what she has provided. Instead of doing so, you plead long and earnestly, literally begging for food. What would she think of you?
And what does God think when He has spread the gospel feast for starving sinners and invited all to "come and dine," but instead of obeying His voice, men fall on their knees and beg and plead for His mercy and grace, and do not accept His invitation and feast on the Living Bread provided for their salvation.
The witness of the Spirit is only enjoyed by those who thus take 'Him at His Word. The believer has received the witness to him as given in the Word of God (Heb. 10:15). He has the witness in himself because the truth has been received into his heart (1 John 5:10). He enjoys the Spirit's witnessing with his spirit, when, upon believing, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within (Rom. 8:16). The witness is not a happy feeling. It is the testimony that the Spirit gives through the Word. That this testimony believed b rings joy and gladness goes without question. I do nor l mow I am saved because I feel happy. But I feel happy because I know I am saved. An old evangelist I knew as a boy used often to say, "Believing is the root; feeling is the fruit." This expresses it well.
"O the peace my Saviour gives,
Peace I never knew before;
And the way has brighter grown,
Since I've learned to trust Him more.”