A Call to Prayer for Constituency Session
The 32nd Southwestern Union Conference Constituency Session will take place on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church. Once every five years, this delegation meets to receive reports, review the constitution and bylaws and elect leadership and committee members. Decisions made during such meetings carry significant implications.
Whenever we gather to conduct the business of God’s Church, we step onto holy ground. Such meetings may appear administrative in nature, but they are, in reality, sacred spaces where God’s will is to be discerned. For this reason, prayer must never be merely a formality—it must be our foundation. Our meetings should be bathed in prayer, for without the presence of God, His work cannot truly succeed.
The early Church understood this deeply. Scripture records in Acts 1:14, “They all joined together constantly in prayer.” Before decisions were made, before leadership roles were filled, God’s people first sought His presence. Prayer prepared their hearts and aligned their minds with heaven, making them ready for the important work that followed.
Yet prayer isn't just something we offer once the meeting begins. There is a quieter, more personal work that must take place beforehand. Each of us is invited to come before God in humility, allowing Him to search our hearts and examine our motives.
Ellen G. White counseled, “Before our brethren assemble in council or board meetings, each one should present himself before God, carefully searching the heart and critically examining the motives,” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, p. 257).
Before we ever enter the meeting room, before we even leave our homes, we can ask God to sanctify our thoughts, soften our spirits and prepare us for His business.
My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would prepare my heart to reflect Christ, to nurture unity, to remain teachable and to lay aside personal agendas so that God’s will may be clearly heard and obeyed.
In preparation for the 32nd Southwestern Union Conference Constituent Session, may we submit our wills to God’s will and our ways to God’s way. May we share the sentiments of the old hymn, “Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.”
Jesus reminds us in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Doing God’s work without abiding in Christ leaves us fruitless. Without Him, our meetings become empty routines and our discussions mere human opinions.
The work of God’s kingdom cannot advance without God Himself. But when we remain connected to Him, His life flows through us and His purposes are accomplished through us.
By Stephen Brooks
Executive Secretary
