Prayer can lighten crosses for us, however heavy. It can bring down to our side One who will help us to bear them.
Prayer can open a door for us when our way seems hedged up. It can bring down One who will say, “This is the way, walk in it.”
Prayer can let in a ray of hope when all our earthly prospects seem darkened. It can bring down One who will say, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Prayer can obtain relief for us when those we love most are taken away, and the world feels empty. It can bring down One who can fill the gap in our hearts with himself, and say to the waves within, “Peace; be still.”
Oh that men were not so like Hagar in the wilderness, blind to the well of living waters close beside them. I want you to be happy. I know I cannot ask you a more useful question than this: Do you pray?
J.C. Ryle in A Call to Prayer (free PDF)
