Sweet Hour of Prayer - Devotional

 

November 13, 2025

Sweet Hour of Prayer

By V.B. Berg

I want to assure you that there is victory for you through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But remember, victory is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6), and we can be “more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37) and gave Himself for us. We can be overcomers. But we’ll never be overcomers unless we are praying Christians.

Matthew 6:6 says, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Do you have a little quiet place where you pray? I remember reading some time ago about a young man who would watch his mother, who had been working hard all day. She wasn’t a young woman, and she would seem so weary about three o’clock in the afternoon. Her feet would start to falter, and her shoulders would seem a little more bent. Then she went to the “secret place” that she had—it was a little closet under the stairway—and there she would stay for quite a while.

He said it was always a matter of wonderment to him that when she came out of that secret place of prayer, her shoulders seemed a little straighter, and her feet had picked up the former pace, and there was a light on her face.

He said that while lots of the sermons he heard preached in his childhood church had never seemed to reach his heart, that picture of his mother and the refreshment that she received in the quiet place of prayer did indeed touch him. This is the place that God’s Word speaks of in this verse: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6).

Do you have a secret place like that? Do you get alone with God and have fellowship with Him? So much is said about religion which isn’t fellowship with God, but outward performance, the mechanical practice of traditions, which is not necessarily fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There can be no real fellowship unless there is real prayer, and prayer is often most powerful in a secret place, a place where you go aside with Him alone and pour your heart out to Him. Then you let Him speak to your heart, you listen for Him to talk to you, because prayer is not a one-sided dialogue; it’s a conversation where you talk to God and then you wait and listen for Him to answer.

We say so many times that prayer changes things. Oh, if prayer does change things, then why don’t we pray? If there is a problem in your life today, if there is some hardship that has come upon you or you’re passing through a trial, how can you cast your burden on the Lord, how can you get out from under that awful pressure unless you go to the Lord alone and tell Him about it?

He’s waiting in the secret place. You know, if Queen Elizabeth was waiting to talk to you, if someone came and called out to you and told you that the Queen of England was waiting to talk to you, you would hurry there to see her! And you would feel so proud that anyone who held such a high position would want to talk to you.

But God waits to talk to you in the secret place. The scripture speaks of the secret place and that God is waiting there to talk to your heart. He wants to talk to you; yes, He does! “Well,” you say, “I haven’t gotten through to God and He hasn’t seemed to answer. He hasn’t seemed to hear me.”

There must be a great desire to hear from God; there must be a deep sincerity. There must be a real longing to hear from God and a real seeking after and searching for Him, and He will reveal Himself. The Bible says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). When you seek Him in the secret place and open your heart and bare your soul to Him, He will reveal Himself as you listen for Him to speak to your heart.

I think so much about the all-sufficiency of the Lord and how it far exceeds the bounds of our faith! And yet we so neglect prayer. According to His Word, there is no limit to what God can do. But how is He going to answer your prayer and supply your needs unless you ask Him? You say, “Well, He ought to know. It says that God knows everything, so He knows my need.” But He said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8).

Spurgeon said he was riding along one day meditating on the scripture that says, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9) when he broke into laughter and said, “Why, an ant had just as well look at the Pacific Ocean and fear a water famine, as for any Christian to view the shoreless promises in God’s Word and fear the lack of any needed supply!” But you must ask! Come to Him in prayer and tell Him all about it and cast your cares upon Him.

Remember, dear one, that all that God has ever said or promised is true and will never change. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

Will you join me as we have a breath of prayer?

Father, we thank You for Your great love and provision for us. We thank You for the supply of our needs. There are those on beds of sickness who need Your healing touch, those in financial distress who need Your supply, those that are surrounded by doubt and unbelief who need a touch from You, Lord. They need a revelation of Jesus Christ. For all these we ask for Your help and healing and supply. Bless them, Lord, we pray in Jesus’ precious name. Help them to truly know that prayer does change things, and that God lives and has His hand on the helm of the universe today. Amen.

From a transcript of a Meditation Moments broadcast, adapted. Published on Anchor November 2025. 

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