secret ingredient

People love secrets. I learned that from my years of youth ministry. If I had a secret, any secret, those kids wanted to know. I love preaching sermons while some object is covered up. I have some great stories with secret, surprise endings. Even websites with secret “Easter eggs” are more fun and popular. I think we feel special somehow, in-the-loop, when we know a secret. Well, I want to share one with you today.

I believe there’s a secret ingredient that is missing from the spiritual lives of most people. Like trying to follow a recipe without knowing that key, missing ingredient, we get frustrated because it’s just not turning out right. The cookies just don’t taste the same. The marinade is good, but it’s obvious that something is strangely absent. Wouldn’t you want to know? Wouldn’t you pull out your cook books, jump on Google, call your mom…whatever you needed to do to figure out that key, missing, secret ingredient?

Now, before the dramatic reveal, here’s one more rather frustrating truth. This secret isn’t really a secret. It’s actually quite obvious once you start looking for it. As the old saying goes, it’s hidden in plain sight. It is a major thread woven throughout Scripture. It is the common denominator in history’s greatest spiritual giants. It has even probably been strangely present and helpful in your own life, yet you haven’t recognized the depth of its influence. Simply said, the secret ingredient to a fulfilling, growing, successful Christian journey is this: prayer.

It makes sense now, huh. As soon as it’s pointed out, we can see it. “Of course!” we might say. “How could I have missed it?” we wonder. Well, quite frankly, because prayer is hard. It’s not called a “discipline” for nothing. In fact (I’ll say this as kindly as possible), I would venture to say that many of our “prayers” are not really prayer at all.

If it’s just a repetitive statement at the beginning of a meal because you’re hungry and want to get on with it, is that really prayer? If we only bow our heads and close our eyes because the pastor tells us to, is that really prayer? If we only remember to call on God when the money is tight or a loved one is sick, is that really prayer?

There is very obviously a difference between being a person who prays and a person of prayer. Jesus was a person of prayer. Those who were closest to Him, the Twelve Disciples, were completely humbled by the gap they saw between His prayer life and their own (see Luke 11:1-13). Jesus had a funny habit of getting up “very early in the morning, while it was still dark” (Mark 1:35) to spend time in prayer alone (see also Matt. 14:23). To Jesus, prayer was so much more than a sporadic, half-hearted string of words. To Jesus, prayer was a lifestyle.

Going to church is crucial, but it’s not the secret. Obeying the Ten Commandments is fantastic, but it’s not the secret either. Even reading and studying the Bible, as essential as that is, is not the secret. Prayer is the secret ingredient. If we become people of prayer, we will go to church, obey the commandments, study our Bibles and so much more. And they will not be painful, begrudging chores, but joyful, fulfilling experiences. They will flow from a love relationship with a personal God who listens and speaks back—who communicates with His people in a beautiful dialogue we call “prayer.”

What if you discovered or rediscovered this secret ingredient? How would your life look different if it were marked by a daily dose of prayer? What would a lifestyle of prayer look like for you? I believe it’s the key, the secret ingredient, for me and for you and for us. Let’s start today. Let’s be people of prayer today.