Everyone wants to know the secret to something. Golfers want to know the secret to playing golf like Jack Nicklaus or Rory McIlroy. Investors want to know the secret to making a fortune on Wall Street. Parents want to know the secret to raising healthy, happy kids. And Christians desperately want to know the secrets to effective prayer. So what are the secrets to real intimacy through prayer with God? The first secret to effective prayer is secret prayer, and Jesus provided the ultimate example. As Dr. Luke put it, Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Unlike the religious leaders of His day, Jesus did not pray to be seen by men. He prayed because He treasured fellowship with His Father. Hypocrites gain their reward through public prayer. They may be perceived as spiritual giants, but by the time they are finished, they have received everything they will ever get— their prayer’s worth and nothing more. A further secret is to recognize the connection between prayer and meditation. Our prayers are only as inspired as our intake of Scripture. Scripture feeds meditation, and meditation gives food to our prayers. Meditating on Scripture allows us to more naturally transition into a marvelous time of meaningful prayer. Author Donald Whitney, who rightly refers to meditation as the missing link between the intake of Scripture and prayer, notes that if there was a secret to the prayer life of evangelist George Müller, it was his discovery of the connection between meditation and prayer. A final secret is to discover your secret place, a place where you can drown out the noise of the world and hear the voice of your heavenly Father. The issue, of course, is not location but motivation. We are all unique creations of God. Thus, your secret place will no doubt be different from mine. The point is that we all desperately need a place away from the invasive sounds of this world so that we can hear the sounds of another place and another Voice.