Key insights:
… In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have actual relationship with our heavenly Father… In order to commune with God, we must have something to say to Him concerning our actual life. SC 93.1
Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him. SC 93.2
We should pray in the family circle, and above all we must not neglect secret prayer, for this is the life of the soul… Family or public prayer alone is not sufficient. In solitude let the soul be laid open to the inspecting eye of God. Secret prayer is to be heard only by the prayer-hearing God. No curious ear is to receive the burden of such petitions. In secret prayer the soul is free from surrounding influences, free from excitement. Calmly, yet fervently, will it reach out after God… SC 98.2
Promise to hold onto:
… The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16 KJV)
What we learn about God:
Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him… Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest… SC 100.1
Prayer is often misunderstood and misused by many Christians, frequently treated as a means to request blessings or fulfill personal desires—reducing God to little more than a spiritual ATM. This perspective falls far short of what God truly desires. Our Heavenly Father seeks a continual, intimate relationship with His children—one that extends beyond specific moments of prayer into every aspect of our lives.
This does not imply that we must abandon our daily responsibilities or spend every moment in formal prayer. Rather, we are called to cultivate an ongoing spiritual awareness—acknowledging God’s presence in our thoughts, actions, and surroundings. God desires to share in our joys, our struggles, and the ordinary rhythms of our day. While He already knows all that concerns us, He invites us to engage with Him intentionally, that we might grow in likeness to Him and deepen our dependence on His guidance and love.
Action Step:
Let us be more more intentional in our prayer life. Let us not reduce God, whose throne is the Heaven and the earth is His footstool (Isaiah 66:1), down to a mere ATM machine for our prayer life. Give thanks to Him for past blessings; give thanks that you are alive and breathing at this moment when thousands of people are found dead after they sleep. Confess your sins when you pray; we never know how we have offended our Father throughout the day. Adore Him, which angels love to bow down before Him and give all their glories.
