Only Way To Pray

Are you easily convinced? I often describe Mister Bill as a "hard sale" because he is a serious skeptic. In contrast, I'm too gullible! God tells us in 1 Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing" (5:17) - a continual offering-up of communication with Him, much like the automation of breathing ... in and out, in and out, in and out. Oswald Chambers writes "prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the saint" (My Utmost for His Highest). If prayer isn't merely an exercise but [rather] a vital part of the Believer's life, how convinced are we that God answers prayer? Do we pray convinced God answers or do we gauge the effectiveness of our prayers by the expected outcome? God says "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:8-11, NASB). If we pray unconvinced, without confidence that God answers from His perfect nature of goodness, then we know little of God Himself. Chambers notes "Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer" - only that we must pray unceasingly. As Jesus prayed with "unlimited certainty," so must we pray unceasingly and confidently knowing The All-Wise and All-Good Father hears and answers from the perfection and riches of His Nature. It's the only ... way to pray.