Claim. Prayer is the storehouse that supplies energy and guidance for the work of God’s will, and a person of faith must invest more time in prayer than in meals — even while doing laundry or walking — because the path of restoration cannot be broken open with one’s own strength alone.
Elaboration. SMM ranks prayer ahead of basic needs: “You must know that praying is more essential than eating your meals” (2.2. A life of prayer, 104-111, 1979.4.15). The storehouse metaphor is explicit: “Pray. Prayer is your heart’s storehouse. If you do not have time, you should at least pray while doing your work” (ibid, 27-89, 1969.11.26). The continuous mode is the standard — “You should pray even while doing your laundry or walking down the road. You should constantly fill up your storehouse” (ibid, 27-87, 1969.11.26). The mechanism is twofold: through prayer one receives energy and prospects on how problems will unfold — “you will be taught, ‘In this situation, do things like this’” (ibid, 104-111, 1979.4.15). Spousal mutual prayer transforms perception: “If your husband has a higher standard of grace than you… you will come to receive grace because of him… you will look upon your husband as the most handsome man in the world” (ibid, 31-288, 1970.6.4). Prayer is therefore a continuous energy infrastructure, not an episodic act.