Importance of Secret Prayer by A. C. ANDERSEN

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 21, 1915

Importance of Secret Prayer

By A. C. ANDERSEN

A. C. ANDERSEN

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Ps. 91:1.

THE secret of power with God is prayer. The secret of power to win others is prayer. Prayer is said to be more important than preaching. He who cannot come face to face with God cannot with any helpfulness come face to face with his fellow man. Prayer is the key that unlocks heaven. Prayer is asking God for what we need. And what is our greatest need today? Is it not the power of the Holy Spirit? And has he not told us to ask for rain “in the time of the latter rain,” and assured us that it shall be given? Did not the Saviour say: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

Is it not true that we are barren and unfruitful? Is there not a sense of poverty in individual as well as church life? And why is it?—Because, as Cortland Myers says, “we have been emphasizing money and methods and men in the kingdom of God, while the secret of power has either been forgotten or sadly neglected.” Have we not been looking more for men of great ability, men of means, and such as can speak with the tongue of angels, than for men of prayer, men of meekness, men of faith?

“However large may be a man’s claim to knowledge and wisdom, unless he is under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, he is exceedingly ignorant of spiritual things. He needs to realize his danger and his inefficiency, and to place entire dependence upon the One who alone is able to keep the souls committed to his trust, able to imbue them with his Spirit, and to fill them with unselfish love for one another.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. IX, page 146.

“All who occupy responsible positions need to learn the lesson that is taught in Solomon’s humble prayer. They are ever to remember that position will never change the character or render man infallible. The higher the position a man occupies, the greater the responsibility he has to bear; the wider will be the influence he exerts, and the greater his need to feel his dependence on the wisdom and strength of God, and to cultivate the best and most holy character. Those who accept a position of responsibility in the cause of God should always remember that with the call to this work God has also called them to walk circumspectly before him and before their fellow men. . . . Position never will give holiness and excellence of character.”—Id., pages 282, 283.

The shut door is a striking figure used by Christ. To shut the door of the heart, and turn the key and keep out worldly thoughts, the desire for dress, the clamors of appetite, and all other sins which crowd the secret chambers of the soul, is the first step into the real presence of Christ. The next step is to open the portals of the heart and let Jesus come in and cleanse the soul temple. Shut the door and hold sweet communion with him. “It is only in this privacy we can find God. Strange and yet true, he is everywhere, but only found in a real sense behind the closed door. . . . We must give him a life of service and obedience before he can give us the object of our desire. Blessing is never first; surrender and service are always first. It is fatal to attempt to reverse the order. The first thought must be thy glory; the first expression must be, I am thine. The glory of God can come through our enlarged vision, our exalted ideals, our purified desires, our holy motives. Prayer is answered according to our preparation to receive. The spiritual qualities, the result of Christ’s teachings, must precede the answer to our requests. The basket must be ready for the fruit. The cup must be in the hand on the way to the fountain. The heart must be in readiness to become the receptacle for God’s best gifts. Every desire and need demands a qualification in the man to receive its answer. We must be ready to take before the goodness of God can give.”—Myers.

Now is the time to humble ourselves before God, and make an earnest effort to empty the soul temple of all rubbish—all envyings, all jealousies, all suspicions, all faultfindings. “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

“The Lord speaks: enter into your closet, and in silence commune with your own heart; listen to the voice of truth and conscience. Nothing will give such clear views of self as secret prayer. He who seeth in secret and knoweth all things, will enlighten your understanding and answer your petitions. Plain, simple duties that must not be neglected will open before you. Make a covenant with God to yield yourselves and all your powers to his service.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. V, page 163.

It is now high time to lay hold of the arm of God, and with David say, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.”

“Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach.”

We should be more earnest, our zeal more fervent, for our perils are greater now than ever before. “I entreat you who fear the Lord to waste no time in unprofitable talk or in needless labor to gratify pride or indulge the appetite. Let the time be spent in wrestling with God for your ministers. Hold up their hands as did Aaron and Hur the hands of Moses.”—Ib.

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Boulder-Colorado Sanitarium.