Another practical reason for failure in prayer is found in impatience. When we pray for something and see no immediate results, we impatiently call the practice worthless and quit.
Suppose that
a man makes a dash at friendship and after throwing off a few trail
conversations should dogmatically conclude that there was nothing in friendship
after all.
But
friendship is not really tested in so dashing and occasional a way; friendship
is rather a life to be lived, habitually, persistently—and its results are
cumulative with the years.
So prayer is a
cumulative life of friendship with God.
Luke 11:1-4,
“And it happened as He was praying
in a certain place, when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord,
teach us to pray, as John also taught His disciples. And He said to them, When
you pray, say: Our Father, who is in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your
kingdom come, Your will be done, as in Heaven, so also on the earth. Give
us day by day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves
also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
Note that when the disciples of
Jesus heard Him pray, they became aware that praying like the way Jesus prayed
was nothing they could drift into, or dash into just in a moment of receiving special
inspiration. Most people go to prayer only when they received inspiration or
motivation to do so.
The kind of prayer that Jesus
taught the disciples shows that He was one acquainted with God. And such
acquaintance with God is the result of assiduous practice of prayer.
“It is a great art to commune with
God,” said Thomas a Kempis. We cannot expect to take a try at a violin once in
a while and yet make much of it. But see how we treat this finer instrument of
prayer!
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