“Prayer does not equip us for greater works–prayer is the greater work. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray continually. When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

I believe the saying goes that prayer should always be the first response, not the last resort. Yet so often, most of us find ourselves falling back on prayer after every other avenue has been exhausted. I know that too many times the idea of prayer doesn’t even occur to me until I’ve worked myself up into a good state of anxiety.

Obviously, praying continually doesn’t mean walking around with eyes closed and hands folded. It means a mindfulness of God at all times and in every place. It means an awareness of God speaking and an attentiveness to hearing that Voice

I still have the idea that praying is like writing a letter to Santa Claus. I have a list of things I want, and I’ve been reasonably good this year, so I should get most of them. But God is not Santa. God is not a Cosmic Genie in a lamp, obligated to give me my three wishes.

Prayer is more getting me to see from God’s perspective. It’s more about learning to love the things God loves and wanting the things God wants until I can pray His will as my own and mean it. That’s when the victory takes place.