Memory Text:
“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8, NKJV).
A friend of mine once said that another way of spelling L-O-V-E is T-I-M-E. Although love is expressed in different ways—such as touch, gifts, words, service, and many others—I think we would all agree that one needs to invest time for a relationship to flourish.
Due to our hectic schedules and endless lists of things to do, we often find ourselves rushing through prayer. Sometimes prayer becomes a few hurried words before breakfast, a quick sentence before we drive, or an emergency call when life breaks down. There is nothing wrong with short prayers. Nehemiah prayed short prayers. Peter prayed a short prayer when he was sinking. But a relationship cannot be built only on leftovers. It must be intentionally strengthened.
How can we strengthen our relationship with the Lord? Read on and find out!
Pray Even If It’s Hard
Life is like a rollercoaster. It is composed of ups and downs, of twists and turns. But we need to remain seated for the entire ride.
Prayer must be like that, too. Despite the twists and turns, the ups and downs of life, prayer should remain constant.
Elijah once called fire from heaven to earth. It shook the prophets of Baal to their core. Yet after hearing of Jezebel’s threat to kill him, he fled and was immediately distressed. The high was followed by an immediate low. We are not exempted. We have those moments. We will have those moments. But will we remain seated on the ride?
An Episcopal bishop once said:
“Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray.”
— Bishop Charles Henry Brent
Pray Even If the Wait Seems Long
One prayer in the Bible that hits us all is “How long?” Examples are:
Psalm 13:1 NKJV
How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
Habakkuk 1:2 NKJV
O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save.
Revelation 6:10 NKJV
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
The patriarchs, the psalmists, and the prophets all waited for something. They were not weak in faith. Longing for an answer is not a sign of weakness; it is a manifestation of our humanity—our groaning for deliverance.
But God is both all-knowing and all-loving. If all-knowing, then He must have good reasons for the wait. If all-loving, then He must have our best interests in everything that He does.
They say that waiting can be transforming. We are changed when we wait upon God. And it also helps us appreciate the things we are waiting for and see their value even more. I always illustrate it this way: a diploma is just a piece of paper, but the fact that you waited years and poured sweat and tears into it makes that piece of paper valuable.
You value the things you have waited for. God might be doing the same thing for us. Wait upon Him! His timing is always perfect!
Pray Even If It Seems Messy
I spent virtually my entire life studying in Adventist schools. I was taught to recite the Lord’s Prayer from memory. I was trained how to structure my prayers and how to make them appropriate for certain occasions. I don’t want to downplay any of that. It is certainly helpful and important. But prayers are not, and should not be, theatrical. They must be personal. And since our lives are a mess, our prayers can also be messy.
Jesus taught us:
Matthew 6:9 NKJV
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
The SDA Bible Commentary notes that the phrase “In this manner” means:
9. After this manner. That is, after this pattern—not necessarily after these identical words—a pattern in content but not necessarily in form.
— Francis D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1980), 345.
What Jesus is teaching us is this: grasp the principles of this prayer; don’t just rehash the words. Get the principles—relationship with God, reverence for His Lordship, confession of sins, and so on. But not a rehash! Even structures can be rehashed to the extreme. ACTS is a good structure for learning how to pray, but it is not something that must be programmatically imposed upon a believer. Prayer is talking to God as a friend. Yes, we can pray structurally, but most of the time it is raw, authentic, random, and at times, even messy. God loves those kinds of prayers!
Conclusion
Prayer is not a performance. It is not a checkbox to tick off before the day begins. It is a conversation with the Father who loves us, and like every meaningful relationship, it requires time—real time, given intentionally.
We have looked at three realities of prayer: that we must pray even when it is hard, even when the answer seems delayed, and even when our hearts come before God messy and unrehearsed. These are not three separate lessons but one truth seen from three angles—that God welcomes us as we are, in every season, and that He never grows tired of hearing from His children.
The psalmist’s invitation in our memory text still stands: “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8). Notice the words “at all times” and “pour out.” There is no posture too lowly, no moment too inconvenient, no struggle too raw. God is not waiting for our polished prayers. He is waiting for us.
May this week, and the weeks ahead, find us returning to Him—not mechanically, but faithfully. Because in the end, a relationship with God is not measured by how eloquent our prayers sound but by how often we come to Him. Spell love with time. And spend that time with the One who first loved us.
Discussion Questions
- Bishop Brent said, “Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray.” Whose example of perseverance in prayer comes to mind for you?
- What do you do in the in-between—while you’re still waiting and still don’t have the answer?
- Psalm 62:8 says to “pour out your heart.” When was the last time you actually did that? What was it like?
- What’s one practical change you want to make in your prayer life this week?
Your relationship with God is your most important relationship. This quarter, we explore what it means to truly grow in that relationship — examining our picture of God, refreshing our devotional life, and addressing the real challenges that impact our walk with Him, including pride and humility, faith and knowledge, sin and forgiveness, and overcoming setbacks. Through 13 focused lessons, may your love and commitment to Jesus Christ be reawakened as you seek Him anew.