When You (Don't) Pray

Hey, Y'all,

I ran across this the other day--it was written by Gavin Anthony and was published in a recent Adventist Review. Though it was excerpted from an article called "When Leaders Don't Pray," it definitely applies to us all, whether you consider yourself a leader or not; people are always observing you and being influenced by you--for better or worse. Check it out...

We don't become intimate with God because we read the Bible or pray, though we cannot be intimate with God without these things. The foundation of intimacy is built on an attitude of the heart that propels us toward the person of God. I believe leaders can easily fail because our relationship with God becomes something we squeeze into our diaries, rather than a deep and ever-present craving for the living God in the very depths of our souls...

Here's a quote to consider: "This experience--above all else the assurance that God would hear his prayer and that the divine presence would attend him--was of more value to Moses as a leader than the learning of Egypt or all his attainments in military [or shepherding] science. No earthly power or skill or learning can supply the place of God's abiding presence. In the story of Moses we may see what intimate communion with God it is man's privilege to enjoy..."†

And this is meant for us too; yet another new beginning. Today, I can very clearly see how my intimacy with Christ is directly and powerfully related to everything I do, and everything I am. I do not pray because it is important. I pray because I am desperate. How can I do anything without the power and direction of the living God? The moment I break my intimacy with my Father, what do I have to offer?

I think I am beginning to understand what Jesus meant when He said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The good news is that no matter how far we may have drifted in our leadership for God, or how tired we are, intimacy with God can be regained. And as long as we remain in Him, we really will bear much fruit.

Interesting, huh?

We don't become intimate with God because we read the Bible or pray, though we cannot be intimate with God without these things. The foundation of intimacy is built on an attitude of the heart... I believe [we] can easily fail because our relationship with God becomes something we squeeze into our diaries, rather than a deep and ever-present craving for the living God in the very depths of our souls...

No earthly power or skill or learning can supply the place of God's immediate presence...I can very clearly see how my intimacy with Christ is directly and powerfully related to everything I do, and everything I am. I do not pray because it is important. I pray because I am desperate. How can I do anything without the power and direction of the living God? The moment I break my intimacy with my Father, what do I have to offer?


You've been prayed for today...

† Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 533, and also Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 328.