In recent months, something has been stirring within the Board of Trustees of The Living Truth Fellowship. Over the past few years, each of us has been drawn into a deeper focus on prayer. It wasn’t planned, and it was never discussed, yet prayer has become the center of our lives.
Just a few weeks ago, Marc reminded us that prayer is not simply bringing requests to God, but speaking honestly to Him as a child to a father. The week before, Franco emphasized how prayer strengthens our fellowship with God just as communication sustains every human relationship. Then Marc highlighted that the true depth and fruit of prayer is a heart that longs to live obediently to God.
First, I believe the Lord Jesus is calling us closer to him in private prayer. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Everything we hope to do for others begins with our relationship with him. Remember Jesus’ words in John 5:30: “I am not able to do anything on my own …” Apart from him, we can do nothing of lasting value.
Second, while we were trained to study the Scriptures, we may have sometimes overlooked Jesus himself—the subject of all Scripture. In John 5:39–40, Jesus told the leaders of his day: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have life in the age to come, and yet those are the ones that testify about me. But you do not want to come to me so that you can have life.”
Those leaders truly believed the answers were in “the Scriptures,” but Jesus reproved them: “You search the Scriptures for me, yet here I stand—and still you will not come to me.” Talk about missing the forest for the trees! Jesus contrasted knowing the Scriptures (which in themselves cannot give life) with knowing him (who can give life). That is the lesson for us as well: the Scriptures point us to a living relationship. Why would any Christian think that merely knowing the Bible is enough? We must know the man, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Third, I believe Jesus is calling us to prayer because we have not given it the place it deserves in daily life. Too often prayer is “as needed,” not the steady practice that begins our mornings. Yet every move of God was birthed in prayer, and every man of God in Scripture was devoted to it. Knowing the Bible is not enough—we must know him.
So, in the days ahead, I challenge you: pray three times a day—when you wake, at noon, and before bed. This ancient practice is confirmed in Psalm 55:17: “Evening, morning and at noon, I will cry out in distress, and he will hear my voice.” David, a man after God’s own heart, delighted in prayer.
Bible teacher Derek Prince once observed that Islam’s rapid growth may be partly because Muslims pray five times daily, while many Christians only pray at church. What might happen if we committed to three times a day?
We must remember: our world is first spiritual, then material. God created the heavens, the earth, and humanity for His purposes. His will is that all be saved and know Him through his son, Jesus Christ. If my relationship with Jesus feels weak, the problem is not him—it’s me.
That is why this challenge matters. It is not about legalism but about forming a rhythm of life that keeps us near to him. Go alone, with no agenda, and open your heart. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to pray. Just pray. If we commit to prayer three times a day, we may find that Christ’s life is formed in us more deeply than we ever imagined.
Who knows what might happen? Perhaps we will even be transformed into his image along the way (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Praying for all of us,