Sabbath School Week

Read for This Week’s Study

Dan. 2:20–23; Dan. 6:10, 11; Acts 20:36; Gen. 5:22–24; Exod. 33:15–23; Exod. 32:31, 32.

Memory Text:

“I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:1, 2, NKJV).

Imagine if you rarely spoke to your best friend or your spouse. Very soon the relationship would break down, and there would be a problem. In the same way, prayer is an essential part of having a close relationship with God. It is a crucial devotional habit, one that each of us needs and can strengthen. If we don’t pray often and continually, we will wander from the Lord sooner or later.

In the Bible, we learn about the lives of different individuals who prayed in different ways. We can step back and catch a glimpse into how their communion with God impacted their relationship with Him, how and for what we might also pray, and how their prayers changed the lives of others. It is true: our prayer life impacts not only ourselves but others as well.

Just like Bible study, this topic of prayer is both huge and important and much broader than what can be covered in just two weeks. This week we’ll learn lessons from some of those in the Bible who prayed and showed us just how central prayer is to having a strong relationship with God. Let’s learn from their examples.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 9.

Supplemental EGW Notes

Through nature and revelation, through His providence, and by the influence of His Spirit, God speaks to us. But these are not enough; we need also to pour out our hearts to Him. In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have actual relationship with our heavenly Father. Our minds may be drawn out toward Him; we may meditate upon His works, His mercies, His blessings; but this is not, in the fullest sense, communing with Him. In order to commune with God, we must have something to say to Him concerning our actual life.
Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.
When Jesus was upon the earth, He taught His disciples how to pray. He directed them to present their daily needs before God, and to cast all their care upon Him. And the assurance He gave them that their petitions should be heard, is assurance also to us.
Jesus Himself, while He dwelt among men, was often in prayer. Our Saviour identified Himself with our needs and weakness, in that He became a suppliant, a petitioner, seeking from His Father fresh supplies of strength, that He might come forth braced for duty and trial. He is our example in all things. He is a brother in our infirmities, “in all points tempted like as we are;” but as the sinless one His nature recoiled from evil; He endured struggles and torture of soul in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and a privilege. He found comfort and joy in communion with His Father. 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.
Our heavenly Father waits to bestow upon us the fullness of His blessing. It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of boundless love. What a wonder it is that we pray so little! God is ready and willing to hear the sincere prayer of the humblest of His children, and yet there is much manifest reluctance on our part to make known our wants to God. What can the angels of heaven think of poor helpless human beings, who are subject to temptation, when God’s heart of infinite love yearns toward them, ready to give them more than they can ask or think, and yet they pray so little and have so little faith? The angels love to bow before God; they love to be near Him. They regard communion with God as their highest joy; and yet the children of earth, who need so much the help that God only can give, seem satisfied to walk without the light of His Spirit, the companionship of His presence.—Steps to Christ, pp. 93, 94.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Daniel is one of the great heroes of the Bible. We know the first story too (see Daniel 1): “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies” (Dan. 1:8, NKJV). Also, to Daniel and his three friends, “God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Dan. 1:17, NKJV). The Bible describes Daniel as wise (Dan. 1:20; Dan. 2:14, 21, 23, 48) because the Spirit of God was in him (Dan. 4:9, 18; Dan. 5:14; Dan. 6:3), and he was greatly beloved by Heaven (Dan. 9:23, Dan. 10:11). These are some descriptors of a man who had a strong, abiding connection with God.

In Daniel 2, when King Nebuchadnezzar issued a death decree to all wise men in Babylon, Daniel sought God’s mercy concerning the secret of the king’s dream (Dan. 2:18). When God revealed the king’s dream to Daniel, he immediately prayed.

Read Daniel 2:20–23. Why did Daniel pray, and what can we learn from this prayer?

As the years passed by and kings rose and fell, Daniel remained an adviser to the kings and was described as distinguished “because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm” (Dan. 6:3, NKJV). “He was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him” (Dan. 6:4, NKJV). Despite fierce jealousy and evil plotting (Dan. 6:5–9) from his peers, Daniel remained ever constant and fearless in his prayer life.

Read Daniel 6:10, 11. What do these verses tell us about Daniel?

When faced with difficulty, Daniel prayed. Although the threat was against his life, he was consistent and persistent in prayer (three times every day, as was his custom), and predictable (at his open window three times a day as he prayed toward Jerusalem). His prayer was a physical act (he knelt) and focused on thanksgiving and supplication.

In light of a story like this, how weak are your excuses for not praying?

Supplemental EGW Notes

The prophet’s enemies counted on Daniel’s firm adherence to principle for the success of their plan. And they were not mistaken in their estimate of his character. He quickly read their malignant purpose in framing the decree, but he did not change his course in a single particular. Why should he cease to pray now, when he most needed to pray? Rather would he relinquish life itself, than his hope of help in God. With calmness he performed his duties as chief of the princes; and at the hour of prayer he went to his chamber, and with his windows open toward Jerusalem, in accordance with his usual custom, he offered his petition to the God of heaven. He did not try to conceal his act. Although he knew full well the consequences of his fidelity to God, his spirit faltered not. Before those who were plotting his ruin, he would not allow it even to appear that his connection with Heaven was severed. In all cases where the king had a right to command, Daniel would obey; but neither the king nor his decree could make him swerve from allegiance to the King of kings.
Thus the prophet boldly yet quietly and humbly declared that no earthly power has a right to interpose between the soul and God. Surrounded by idolaters, he was a faithful witness to this truth. His dauntless adherence to right was a bright light in the moral darkness of that heathen court. Daniel stands before the world today a worthy example of Christian fearlessness and fidelity.
For an entire day the princes watched Daniel. Three times they saw him go to his chamber, and three times they heard his voice lifted in earnest intercession to God. The next morning they laid their complaint before the king. Daniel, his most honored and faithful statesman, had set the royal decree at defiance. “Hast thou not signed a decree,” they reminded him, “that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”
“The thing is true,” the king answered, “according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.”
Exultantly they now informed Darius of the conduct of his most trusted adviser. “That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah,” they exclaimed, “regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.” . . .
From the story of Daniel’s deliverance we may learn that in seasons of trial and gloom God’s children should be just what they were when their prospects were bright with hope and their surroundings all that they could desire. Daniel in the lions’ den was the same Daniel who stood before the king as chief among the ministers of state and as a prophet of the Most High. A man whose heart is stayed upon God will be the same in the hour of his greatest trial as he is in prosperity, when the light and favor of God and of man beam upon him. Faith reaches to the unseen, and grasps eternal realities.
Heaven is very near those who suffer for righteousness’ sake. Christ identifies His interests with the interests of His faithful people; He suffers in the person of His saints, and whoever touches His chosen ones touches Him. The power that is near to deliver from physical harm or distress is also near to save from the greater evil, making it possible for the servant of God to maintain his integrity under all circumstances, and to triumph through divine grace.—Prophet and Kings, pp. 540, 542, 545.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

When something goes wrong in our lives, most of us call a close friend to talk about it. When we have good news, we find someone to share it with. We can do the same with God. “Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 93.

Prayer not only keeps us connected to God but tells the devil whose we are. When we kneel to pray in the morning, it’s like a physical declaration to the powers of darkness that we choose God this day. Not only that, but God sends angels to our side when we pray, and we are fortified and covered from the enemy of darkness (Psalm 91).

The physical act of kneeling in submission shows a humble posture. It’s somehow different from sitting in a chair or lying in a bed while we pray, although we can pray in these positions too. However, when we kneel before God, we show that we are ready to serve God with all our hearts, and our words declare that He is sovereign and that we are merely His created children.

Read the following Bible passages and consider the lives of these individuals who knelt when they prayed: Dan. 6:10, Luke 22:41, Acts 7:60, Acts 9:40, Acts 20:36.

Standing in prayer was a common practice in Bible times (2 Chron. 20:5, 6, 13; 1 Sam. 1:26; Job 30:20; Luke 18:11, 13). The Bible also shares examples of people who sat when they prayed (2 Sam. 7:18). Others prostrated themselves before God, with their face on the earth—although this posture was less commonly associated with prayer, but rather submission before a superior (1 Kings 1:47, Mark 14:35).

What is your usual posture when you pray? The Bible doesn’t require us to pray in any particular posture, but postures are important, as they reflect our reverence, our inner feelings, and our desire to surrender to God. Some people are unable to kneel; so, ultimately, it’s the heart condition that matters most. If you can kneel but usually don’t, why not try kneeling next time you pray and see how it affects your time with God?

The Bible invites us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17), implying constancy (Col. 4:2) and perseverance (Rom. 12:12). Today, as you stand, sit, lie, or walk, turn your thoughts to God and talk to Him as your Friend. Begin right now.

Supplemental EGW Notes

The assurance is broad and unlimited, and He is faithful who has promised. When we do not receive the very things we asked for, at the time we ask, we are still to believe that the Lord hears and that He will answer our prayers. We are so erring and short-sighted that we sometimes ask for things that would not be a blessing to us, and our heavenly Father in love answers our prayers by giving us that which will be for our highest good—that which we ourselves would desire if with vision divinely enlightened we could see all things as they really are. When our prayers seem not to be answered, we are to cling to the promise; for the time of answering will surely come, and we shall receive the blessing we need most. But to claim that prayer will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire, is presumption. God is too wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. Then do not fear to trust Him, even though you do not see the immediate answer to your prayers. Rely upon His sure promise, “Ask, and it shall be given you.”
If we take counsel with our doubts and fears, or try to solve everything that we cannot see clearly, before we have faith, perplexities will only increase and deepen. But if we come to God, feeling helpless and dependent, as we really are, and in humble, trusting faith make known our wants to Him whose knowledge is infinite, who sees everything in creation, and who governs everything by His will and word, He can and will attend to our cry, and will let light shine into our hearts. Through sincere prayer we are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite. We may have no remarkable evidence at the time that the face of our Redeemer is bending over us in compassion and love, but this is even so. We may not feel His visible touch, but His hand is upon us in love and pitying tenderness.—Steps to Christ, p. 96.

We should pray in the family circle, and above all we must not neglect secret prayer, for this is the life of the soul. It is impossible for the soul to flourish while prayer is neglected. Family or public prayer alone is not sufficient. In solitude let the soul be laid open to the inspecting eye of God. Secret prayer is to be heard only by the prayer-hearing God. No curious ear is to receive the burden of such petitions. In secret prayer the soul is free from surrounding influences, free from excitement. Calmly, yet fervently, will it reach out after God. Sweet and abiding will be the influence emanating from Him who seeth in secret, whose ear is open to hear the prayer arising from the heart. By calm, simple faith the soul holds communion with God and gathers to itself rays of divine light to strengthen and sustain it in the conflict with Satan. God is our tower of strength.
Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. These silent prayers rise like precious incense before the throne of grace. Satan cannot overcome him whose heart is thus stayed upon God.
There is no time or place in which it is inappropriate to offer up a petition to God. There is nothing that can prevent us from lifting up our hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street, in the midst of a business engagement, we may send up a petition to God and plead for divine guidance, as did Nehemiah when he made his request before King Artaxerxes. A closet of communion may be found wherever we are. We should have the door of the heart open continually and our invitation going up that Jesus may come and abide as a heavenly guest in the soul.—Steps to Christ, pp. 98, 99.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Read Genesis 5:22–24. What, exactly, do we know about Enoch?

The Bible doesn’t share a lot about Enoch’s life, but it does tell us that he walked with God for 300 years until God took him to heaven. How beautiful that a person’s consistent devotion to God is what defines their life!

One thing we know is that Enoch must have been “continuing steadfastly in prayer” (Rom. 12:12, NKJV), persevering and growing closer to God in faith through his daily experiences. The earth was becoming increasingly evil in the time in which he was living, and Enoch kept busy serving God, but he couldn’t do this well without abiding in Him.

“In the midst of a life of active labor, Enoch steadfastly maintained his communion with God. The greater and more pressing his labors, the more constant and earnest were his prayers. . . . After remaining for a time among the people, laboring to benefit them by instruction and example, he would withdraw, to spend a season in solitude, hungering and thirsting for that divine knowledge which God alone can impart. Communing thus with God, Enoch came more and more to reflect the divine image. . . . Even the ungodly beheld with awe the impress of heaven upon his countenance.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 86, 87.

God doesn’t ask us to live like hermits or monks, so separate from the world that we are of no earthly use. Like Enoch, we can be productive and aware of the needs around us, but it’s only by walking and talking with God through a steady, abiding relationship that He can reflect His wonderful character through us.

We can pray anytime, anywhere. There is nowhere on earth that God doesn’t see or hear us (Ps. 139:7–12); He always hears the cries of our hearts, no matter where we are (read Lam. 3:55–57). Yet, there is something to be said for praying out loud instead of just in our minds. When we pray silently, we might become distracted or not even finish our train of thought or our sentence, and it can be harder for our thoughts to remain focused. But when we pray aloud, whether in a whisper or in our usual tone, it’s a reminder to ourselves that God is real, that He’s listening, and that we have something specific to talk about with Him.

As you go about your day today, where or how will you whisper a prayer in communion with Jesus?

Supplemental EGW Notes

Enoch was a representative of Christ as surely as was the beloved disciple John. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. To him was committed the message of the second coming of Christ. “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophe­sied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds which they have ­ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” The message preached by Enoch, and his translation to heaven, were a convincing argument to all who lived in Enoch’s time. These things were an argument that Methuselah and Noah could use with power to show that the righteous would be translated.
That God who walked with Enoch was our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He was the light of the world then, just as He is today. Those living then were not without teachers to instruct them in the paths of life, for Noah and Enoch were Christians. The gospel is given in precept in Leviticus. Implicit obedience is required now, as then. How important it is that we understand the meaning of this word. Only two classes will be developed in the world—the obedient and the disobedient. This must be made apparent in all our labors. If we could only bear in mind that Christ, in disguise, is constantly by our side. “I am at your right hand to help you.” We are to be His witnesses to convince the sinner of sin. None can be compelled against their will, but they can be convinced. Christ is the miracle-working power that can do this.—Christ Triumphant, p. 63.

Of Enoch it is written that he lived sixty-five years, and begat a son. After that he walked with God three hundred years. During these earlier years Enoch had loved and feared God and had kept His commandments. . . . But after the birth of his first son, Enoch reached a higher experience; he was drawn into a closer relationship with God. He realized more fully his own obligations and responsibility as a son of God. . . .
What a blessed thing it is that we have an Enoch! . . . Notwithstanding the corruption that was so great around him, yet he walked with God, and his light shone out to that degenerate age. And if Enoch walked with God amid corruption then, why cannot men and women walk with God today, in this age of the world?
Many of us know something of this experience. We know that in sadness and grief we feel very frail, but we know that Jesus is right by our side to sympathize with us, and He will help us. We can commune with our best Friend; He is right by our side. We need not go into the heavens to bring Him down, for He is right by us to help us.
As we walk in the streets with those who care not for God or heaven or heavenly things, we can talk to them of Jesus. We have something more precious than they to look upon—it is Jesus. He is with us in the moral darkness of this age. We can tell Him of the afflictions of our soul and the wickedness in the world, and none of these things need hinder us. We can talk with Jesus. We can talk with Jesus as Enoch talked with God; he could tell his Lord all about his trials. . . .
Enoch formed a righteous character, and the result was that he was translated to heaven without seeing death. When the Lord shall come the second time, there will be some who will be translated without seeing death, and we want to know if we will be among that number. We want to know if we are wholly on the Lord’s side—partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust—not by trying to make a clear path for our feet where we shall have no trials or difficulties to meet, but by placing ourselves in right relation to God and letting Him take care of the consequences.—Christ Triumphant, p. 42.\

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.