"Prayer" says and old Jewish mystic. "Is the moment when heaven and earth kiss each other."

Prayer is not persuading God to do what we want Him to do. It is not bending the will of a reluctant God to our will. It does not change His purpose, although it may release His power. We pray but never assuming our prayer will overcome God’s reluctance.

Prayer is offered in ignorance and blindness. God always seeks our greater good but we can’t see that good for the tears caused by our pain. We cry out as a small child having stubbed a toe. Or as one miner in England put it after a cave-in, "Aye, there’s nothing like tons of coal to make a man pray."

So many pray only in emergencies. When danger threatens, sickness comes, things are lacking or difficulties arise – then they pray.

So what then is the good of prayer? Brother Lawrence once said, "Prayer is nothing else than a sense of God’s presence." A friend of Horace Bushnell said after being with Bushnell one night in prayer, "I was afraid to stretch out my hand in the darkness lest I touch God."

Psalm 62:5, "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." We can rest in knowledge that God has heard our pleas. Ours is now to wait for the fulfillment of His will. Let us therefore be conscious of His presence for He is always present and to commune with Him.

Is prayer to me just a duty or is it a privilege, a pleasure, a real joy or a necessity?

God's Wisdom: For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Phil. 1:21

Worldly Wisdom: I once prayed to God for a bike, but quickly found out he didnt work that way…so I stole a bike and prayed for his forgiveness. (Unknown and Foolish)