Habits of Prayer.
For many years my wife and I would often retreat to a block of land that we owned in the Brother Mountains east of Glen Innes in New South Wales. Following the sale of the house that we had there, we returned often to stay in a caravan in an adjoining block of land that we had purchased separately because it contained an artesian well. Our water supply in the caravan was from a tank under the caravan, filled as necessary from the well. To get the water into the sink I had fitted a small hand-operated piston pump attached to the tap.
When the pump was frequently used, very little energy was required to have water, as the water poured out at the first stroke. But if the pump had not been used for a long time, the water got low in the pipe, and when we wanted it we had to pump a long while, and the water came only after some effort.
So it is with prayer; if we are instant in prayer, every little circumstance awakens the disposition to pray so that desires and words are always ready. But if we neglect prayer, it is difficult for us to pray, for the water in the pipe gets low.
-- Lionel Hartley www.lrhartley.com