Prayer: A Heart Matter
I once asked a young friend, “Did you pray before you were converted?” She answered, “Yes, sort of.” I then inquired, “What is different about the way you pray now as opposed to how you prayed before you knew the Lord?” She responded, “Then, I said my prayers, but now, I mean them. Before my conversion, I said the prayers other people taught me to pray. But now, I find them in my heart.”
The dictionary defines prayer as an effort to communicate with God, either to offer praise, to make a request, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions.
One of my favorite authors, Ellen G. White, penned the following words about the subject: “Prayer is the breath of the soul, the channel of all blessings. As . . . the repentant soul offers its prayer, God sees its struggles, watches its conflicts, and marks its sincerity. He has His finger upon its pulse, and He takes note of every throb. Not a feeling thrills it, not an emotion agitates it, not a sorrow shades it, not a sin stains it, not a thought or purpose moves it, of which He is not cognizant. That soul was purchased at an infinite cost, and is loved with a devotion that is unalterable. . . .”—Our High Calling, p. 127.
The power of sincere, heartfelt prayer is never to be underestimated. It is not the gilded paper and good writing of a petition that prevails with the God of heaven. It is the humble, honest, genuine, and earnest expression of the heart.
“The voice of prayer should rise to God from hearts burdened by a sense of need. Let there be a revival of the Holy Spirit, that your prayers may be filled with the power of heaven”—Review & Herald, Jan. 14, 1902.
“Prayer moves the arm of Omnipotence. He who marshals the stars in order in the heavens, whose word controls the waves of the great deep—the same infinite Creator will work in behalf of His people, if they will call upon Him in faith. He will restrain all the forces of darkness, until the warning is given to the world, and all who will heed it are prepared for His coming”—Review & Herald, Dec. 14, 1905.
God is not interested in the arithmetic of our prayers—how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers—how long they are; nor the music of our prayers—how methodical they are; but the spirituality of our prayers—how heart-sprung they are.
As we come to the end of another eventful year, my prayer for you is that God will shower you with His wonderful and compassionate gift of love—the best gift anyone can give in this holiday season. And we can do this through the privilege of sincere prayers from the heart.
Donald
G. King is president of the Atlantic Union
Conference and chairman of the Atlantic
Union College Board of Trustees.
Atlantic Union GLEANER
December 2005
