"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiv-
ing . . . "
Prayer is a strange phenomenon. God doesn't need it; but we do. But why? I think the answer is to be found in the fact that it simply keeps us *consciously* "connected" to the Lord. Without it, we grow complacent, self-sufficient, and dull. With it, we stay in vital relationship with our God.
These things we know about prayer: it is always to be made to God, through the name and sacrifice of Christ; it is to be an honest expression of our hearts; and it is to be a means of demonstrating gratitude to the Lord for all He has done for us. Don't ever give up praying. To do so is to give up on your faith.
[Puritan quote of the day: "The heroic deeds of those great [Biblical] worthies do not comfort the church so much as their falls and bruises do." --Richard Sibbes, in "The Bruised Reed"]
