One day I greeted a stranger as we passed each other in a parking lot. He asked me a question, “What’s the most important thing that you’re going to do today?”

My mind didn’t review the calendar with the myriad of things that crowded my agenda, such as attending meetings, returning phone calls, answering e-mail and “snail mail” letters and getting my daily dose of physical exercise in.

“Prayer,” I answered. He seemed pleased with the answer, and we each went on our respective ways.

I sincerely believe that prayer is the most important “thing” in the life of the Christian. Our Heavenly Father invites each of us into a personal relationship. This relationship is rooted in a divine/human communication that begins on our knees. Ellen White states: “Through sincere prayer we are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite” (Steps to Christ, p. 97).

If our churches here in the Pacific Union are to rise to another level, I do believe that we cannot over emphasize prayer—the most important thing.

This may sound strange coming from a union administrator, but I am not convinced that the Seventh-day Adventist Church needs more programming or a greater emphasis on policy or procedure. Don’t misunderstand me. Those things are important and needful in their place, but in my thinking, if we are praying individually and collectively for the out pouring of the Holy Spirit, we would be enthused with a power that the world cannot deny.

Jesus was a man of prayer. He often prayed all night long, or arose from his sleep very early in the morning to spend protracted periods of time in prayer. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1.35).

He taught His disciples—upon their request—to pray. Luke 11.1 states, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples,” and He did. Certainly, prayer was significant to Him.

“Jesus opened his public mission with fervent prayer, and his example makes manifest the fact that prayer is necessary in order to lead a successful Christian life. He was constantly in communion with his Father, and his life presents to us a perfect pattern which we are to imitate. He appreciated the privilege of prayer, and his work showed the results of communion with God” (Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, 7-24-1893).

“And if the Saviour of men, the Son of God, felt the need of prayer, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of fervent, constant prayer” (Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 65).

Prayer was important to Jesus, and it should be to us. We may acknowledge that fact, but do we follow Jesus’ example? No “guilt trip” intended, but do we actually pray? How do we prioritize this sacred conversation into our daily life?

I ask myself those questions, and sometimes it seems that my days are getting busier and busier. If I am not careful, prayer can easily get shoved to the side. And sometimes I yield to the television and the comforts of sleep more than I should.

Being lifted into the presence of God, receiving the energizing power of the Holy Spirit, having a clear, God-centered world view, being able to “rightly divide the Word,” and more are among the multiple benefits of prayer. But more than those things, the supreme benefit of being transformed while submitting to God in His presence is incomparable. Obviously, prayer is the most important thing.

So, let me ask you, reader, what is the most important thing you are going to do today?