“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought to always to pray, and not to faint.”   Luke 18:1

The always speaks for itself.  Prayer is not a meaningless function, or duty to be crowded into the busy or the weary ends of the day.  Are we are obeying the Lord’s command when we content ourselves with a few minutes on our knees in the  morning rush, or late at night when the faculties, tired with the task of the day, call out for rest.

God is always within call, it is true; his ear is ever attentive to the cry of his child, but we can never get to know him if we use  the vehicle of prayer as we use the telephone, as a few words of a hurried conversation.  Intimacy requires the development of a relationship.  We can never know God, as it is our privilege to know him, by brief, fragmentary and unconsidered repetitions of intercessions that are request for personal favors and nothing more. 

“The goal of prayer is the ear of God,” a goal that can only be reached by patient and continuous waiting upon Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, and permitting Him to speak to us.