I wonder how the disciples felt about themselves, not being able to help the boy. The crowd was watching and the dad was pleading while they could see the boy suffering. The disciples had been trained taught by Jesus. Were they embarrassed and discouraged? They wanted an answer from Jesus of what went wrong. Jesus provided an answer - faith filled praying. For me, my praying has been weak and half hearted. I’m sure Jesus would say and is saying that you and I need to pray with a rebellious spirit against the ways of this world.
“Do we really think we can experience integration of heart and mind and spirit with an erratic prayer life? Do we really believe we can, like Moses, “speak face to face” with God as someone would a friend by our unpredictable prayers? No, we develop intimacy by regular association. We develop ease as well. Why ease? Because we are forming fixed habits of righteousness. In time these “holy habits” will do their work of integration so that praying becomes the easy thing, the natural thing, the spontaneous thing—the hard thing will be to refrain from prayer.” - Excerpt From ‘Prayer’ by Richard Foster
“Pray to God more intimately than you think you’re allowed to because this is about love, and center your life according to a disciplined rhythm of prayer because fidelity is the soil that love grows in.” I hear Jesus saying, “Here’s my secret: pray with the heart of a lover and the discipline of a monk. That’s how you choose fidelity, and when you do, it quenches your desires in such a satisfying way that everything else becomes the boring part.” Jesus was saying to them and to us, “Pray like a bunch of wild, unruly monks.” - Excerpt, Praying Like Monks by Tyler Staton
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