Living Prayer
There is necessity for diligence in prayer; let nothing hinder you. Make every effort to keep open the communion between Jesus and your own soul. … (SC 98.1)
I was recently reminded of the importance of prayer while listening to a sermon given at the Elmhurst Seventh-day Adventist Church in Illinois. It brought back into focus my need to be continually connected with God throughout the day and reminded me of the fact that I am powerless without Him. Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (NKJV). Though spoken by Jesus during his earthly ministry so very long ago, this wasn’t a message meant only for the disciples—this is a message for today! The people of God living in the closing chapters of the Great Controversy can do nothing when disconnected from their Savior.
Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. These silent prayers rise like precious incense before the throne of grace. Satan cannot overcome him whose heart is thus stayed upon God. (SC 98.3)
As we keep our hearts and minds fixed upon Christ, there is nothing the Devil can do to us. Our adversary may endeavor to tempt and distract us, but as long as we turn our eyes upon Jesus we will surely stand strong.
When you leave your home each morning, do you take the Lord with you? Or, in preparation for the day’s work, do you leave Him beside your Bible? I urge you to remember that we can experience continual victory over sin and an abiding peace “which passeth all understanding,” if we would just maintain a continual connection with the Father.
There is no time or place in which it is inappropriate to offer up a petition to God. There is nothing that can prevent us from lifting up our hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street, in the midst of a business engagement, we may send up a petition to God and plead for divine guidance, as did Nehemiah when he made his request before King Artaxerxes. A closet of communion may be found wherever we are. We should have the door of the heart open continually and our invitation going up that Jesus may come and abide as a heavenly guest in the soul. (SC 99.1)
Speak to the Lord as you walk to your car. Plead with Him to bring healing to your family as you drive to work. Tell Jesus about your worries and fears throughout the day, opening your heart to Him without reserve. Spend time considering His wonderful character and life of selfless ministry. Ask for the Spirit’s guidance as you make decisions and seek to win others to Christ. Rejoice in the Lord and thank Him for the blessings He has graciously given you.
Ellen White once wrote that the “life of a living Christian is a life of living prayer” (ST August 7, 1879, par. 12). We need to be living that life, and it is my prayer for you that the Lord would bless and enrich your walk with Jesus as we continually strive to grow more like Him this year.
Raised in the suburbs of Chesapeake, VA, Matthew Perez grew up in a Christian home under the guidance of his loving parents. Though he wasn’t raised in an Adventist family, he always believed that God was just, loving, and merciful. Upon moving to New York for graduate school, he became involved with various ministries as well as a small church plant in Queens. It was during this time that he met his wife, Katelyn, who introduced him to the Christ-centered teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist church. He currently works as the musical director of a Baptist church in White Plains, but considers Westchester Adventist Church to be his “home church.”