Listen: Audio by Gabriel Sanders
Prayer looks different for each person and in each setting. We have prayer around the dinner table, at church kneeling, during personal early-morning devotions, or in a group gathering with a popcorn prayer, going around in a circle speaking to God about worries and requests. Prayer is so many things—but what does it really mean?
A few Union Adventist University students recently answered questions about what prayer means to them. Mayah Evans, a senior nursing student, said, “Prayer is a way for us to connect with God. A way we can go to Him with any burdens that lay on our hearts and a way that He can be more present in our lives every day.” Even Jesus went to God with His burdens. He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and gave His heavenly Father His worries and let Him take the wheel. We too can rely on God for our worries and doubts. He provided us, His children, a way to communicate with Him any time we feel the need.
Ellen G. White says on page 85 of Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing:
“By maintaining a connection with God, we shall be enabled to diffuse to others, through our association with them, the light, the peace, the serenity, that rule in our hearts. The strength acquired in prayer to God, united with persevering effort in training the mind in thoughtfulness and care-taking, prepares one for daily duties and keeps the spirit in peace under all circumstances.”
Prayer is our link to heaven and our way to talk and communicate with the One we read about in the texts.
Chala Gemeda, a senior theology major, related to this, stating, “In Revelation, it tells us the angels take our prayers to heaven, directly to the Father. For He listens to each of our prayers. Prayer is a special request to the Father. We know that He listens, and it’s important to connect with God and build your relationship with Him.” We talk to Him for many reasons—for requests, to ease our troubles, and to maintain a relationship with our Father in heaven.
Building a relationship with God can be a difficult task. Many students like Chala mentioned that prayer is one of the most important disciplines in maintaining a relationship with God. But we should not rely solely on it. We must both pray and read Scripture to keep that connection strong.
Elizabeth Campbell, a freshman at Union, said, “Prayer is the foundation of my relationship with God. It provides me with a way to always speak with Him. It is a peaceful time that I can spend one-on-one with Him.” Just as Jesus spent countless hours praying to God by Himself, we too should spend time talking to Him, using Jesus as our daily example of how to continue our relationship with God.
A person at Union who not only prays every day but surrounds himself in prayer is theology professor Pierre Steenberg.
He told me in an interview, “I pray when I’m driving and when I’m exercising. I am constantly praying.” He also started a routine of prayer for his students in the fall semester of 2023 that involves having his students write down their requests to God. Then he takes time outside of class and office hours to individually pray for them and their special requests. “All together, I have a stack of index cards with prayer requests just from one semester,” Steenberg shared.
His testimony brought a drastically different perspective to my eyes. Jesus too surrounded Himself with prayer (Mark 1:35), and we are to surround ourselves with prayer and be forever connected to God through prayer, Scripture and worship.
Prayer is many things. It’s a way to communicate, a form of invocation, and for some a lifestyle. Jesus went to prayer for many things, including thanks (Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21), protection (John 17:11), and His believers (John 17:20). We go to God in prayer for many things, including comfort, thanks, safety and His Love. I grew up thinking there was a right and wrong way to pray, but no one but God can dictate that.
Prayer at Work
When Pierre Steenberg finished his degree through Andrews University, he and his wife decided it was time to start a family. It wasn’t an easy start because the baby came sooner than expected. Their son, Elmer, was only 31 weeks old at birth, three weeks earlier than his due date. According to Utah University of Health, if a baby is around 32 weeks old, there is a 95 percent chance of survival. Unfortunately, Elmer was completely septic when he entered this world. Steenberg recalls, “With only machines keeping him with us, through surgery after surgery, he fought to stay alive. Throughout all of this, I was praying. I wanted my son to stay alive, and I had prayer to be with me.” With the mortality rate at 21 percent, Elmer truly beat the odds and is now a P.E. and history teacher at Armona Union Academy in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
How would Steenberg have handled a different outcome? “I would have handled it roughly the same,” he shares. “Just as Daniel and his friends stood in that furnace, they didn’t know what God was going to do, but they had trust that He would take care of them. I think I would have to trust God and know that in the end I will get to see Elmer in heaven one day. No matter the outcome, my trust in God will never waver.”
For more about Pierre Steenberg’s prayer ministry, check out this video: https://bit.ly/3VtiRqx
Source:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2891980/
Gabriel Sanders is a senior English major at Union Adventist University. He is from Eagle Point, Oregon, and enjoys creative writing, hiking and skiing in his spare time.
