A month after reading this in a post by Steve Fuller at the Desiring God Blog, I can say that it has tremendously reinvigorated my prayer life:
One reason we don’t pray is because we believe Satan’s lie that prayer does nothing. But that’s not what Jesus taught (Matthew 7:7).
Jesus promises that every time we pray, God will answer. He will either do exactly what we ask, or something even better, which he would not have done had we not prayed.
So if I start the day praying about my heart, marriage, children, work, and ministry, then God will do things in my heart, marriage, children, work, and ministry that he would not have done had I not prayed. Trust Jesus’ promise about prayer — and pray.
It was that last paragraph that pierced me, that I continue to hear in my head every time I sit down to pray, that indeed compels me to sit down to pray when I’m tempted to skip prayer that day.
When we pray about something, God will do something in that situation He would not have done if we hadn’t prayed.
Those are words of great promise, and hope, and responsibility. I hope they’ll move you to pray like never before.