p. 10 | Prayer | AdventAI

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 30, 1908

Prayer

TRUE prayer is the outpouring of a burdened soul into the bosom of God. It is the spontaneous expression of a deeply felt want. It is an outburst of faith. It is the laying of one's hand on the horns of the altar. It is the satisfaction of the hunger of the soul, the felt consciousness of the nearness of God, the confidence of self-conscious childhood in the Father's family. It is the highest and best thing in all our Christian experience. Written forms of prayer do not meet its true needs, for all true prayer is individual. It is the soul, reaching out its own hand for the acceptance of every gift implied in the promises.

In all this wide world there is nothing more precious than prayer. There are moments in the experience of every child of God when we want to be alone with him; when the presence of even the best and truest of our companions is a felt incumbrance; when, with Joseph, we cry out: “Cause every man to go out from me.” And then, in our solitude, we meet God; then we are deeply conscious that prayer enters into the constitution and economy of the universe; then we are strengthened in our weakness, consoled in our grief, enlightened in our darkness. One such hour, spent with God, becomes a lifelong memory, and gives us a glimpse of the upper and better kingdom, where prayer ceases forever, and adoration takes its place.—Christian Observer.