Whenever our ladies get together, I always try to address the average woman's problems. this one transcends all lines... old, young, married, widowed, with children or without.

Some Christians look at God as a spare tire, forgotten for months at a time, and then used in an emergency. They expect God to be on hand to lend immediately help in a time of distress.

[1]. Anytime - "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice." (Ps. 55:17) Don't use "call-waiting" on God! An eight year old California boy named Danny Dutton once wrote an essay on God. When addressing the issue of prayer, he wrote: "God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, as some people like preachers pray other times than at bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the televison or radio on account of this. As He hears everything, not only prayers, there must be a terrible lot of noise going on in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off."
[2]. Instantly - "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer." (Rom. 12:12)
[3]. Continually - "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." (Lk. 18:1) (1 Thess. 5:17)

[1]. The salvation of others - (2 Cor. 5:20)
[2]. The removal of affliction - (Ja. 5:13)
[3]. Your friends and your "friends" - (Job 42:10)

(a). This could have an additional bonus for you!
(b). It could be one of your best spiritual weapons.

In one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books I read about a woman who cut out pictures of what she wanted: a husband, a beautiful wedding, flowers, diamonds, a lovely home, etc., because she had read in the Bible that God wants to give us the desires of our heart. Now that seems a little mercenary to me, but have you ever thought about picturing your prayer requests answered in your mind? For instance, the prodigal back home, the sick parent well again, the lost husband saved, the miserable marriage happy. Our prayers don't depend on our feelings but on the trustworthiness of the Promiser.

[1]. In the Spirit - (Eph. 6:18)
[2]. Fervently - (Ja. 5:16) Sir Eric Roll tells the story of a little boy who was observed by a minister in church praying very fervently; but, much to the pastor's surprise, he was also heard to say from time to time, "Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo." So when the sevice was over, the minister went up to the boy and said, "Son, I was very pleased to see you praying so devoutly, but do tell me, why did you keep saying, 'Tokyo, Tokyo, Tokyo'?" The little boy replied, "Well, you see, sir, I have just been taking my geography examination in school, and I have been praying to the Lord to make Tokyo the capital of France." Now that is fervent praying!!!
[3]. With faith and confidence - (Ps. 6:9)

Often our prayers can be compared to the Chinese "prayer balls." Prayer requests are written on paper, rolled in mud and then thrown at an idol. If they stick, they'll be answered. I wonder if that is how my prayers may appear...some words I toss at God as I blast through another busy day. The wonder isn't that we pray on our knees so little; the wonder is that we ever get up when we realize the need around us, and we catch a vision of what God can do. The devil dreads our prayers and keeps us up to our eyes in work. He laughs at our toiling, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.