June 13

Prayer vital to the Christian

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6:6).
“I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (Psa. 16:8).

We know from much experience that the enemy does his utmost to prevent us from having a quiet hour. He is only too well aware of its importance in a healthy believer’s life, and knows what wealth of overcoming power lies hidden for us there. Public worship, Bible-study circles, meetings, prayer meetings, are all good, and we should attend them whenever possible, but they can never take the place of the quiet hour. Moreover, our Lord Himself ordained these times of stillness when He said, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”


The Lord does not state explicitly what length of time we should spend in secret, but it is clear that He meant private prayer to be practiced in perfect seclusion and inner concentration. In a few hurried minutes this is impossible; we need time to wait in silence before God, and to speak with Him. If we need further proof of the import of this thing, we have our Lord’s own silent watches on the mountain, in the early morning hours or in the quiet of the night, to convince us. If He, the Son of God, felt the need of solitude, He Who was never disturbed, never influenced by His surroundings, how much more do we need such times of quiet alone with God!
—Sister Eva.

I would converse with Thee from day to day,
With heart intent on what Thou hast to say,
And through my pilgrim walk, whate’er befall,
Consult with Thee, O Lord! about it all.
Since Thou art willing thus to condescend
To be my intimate, familiar Friend,
Oh! let me to the great occasion rise,
And count Thy friendship life’s most glorious prize!
—J. R. Miller.

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