In the following short quotation from Mr. Meyer, there is fodder for reflection and perhaps application:

"We often wonder at Luther, who spent three hours each day in prayer and meditation; at Bishop Andrews, spending the greater part of five hours every day in fellowship with God; at John Welch, who thought that day ill spent which did not witness eight or ten hours of closet communion. It seems to us as if such prolonged praying must involve an endless monotony of vain repetitions. We forget that when men are sent to market with a host of commissions from their neighbors and friends, they must needs tarry longer than when they go only for themselves. It would be a very wholesome thing if the causes of others were to detain us more constantly before the Lord.-F. B. Meyer." "I will pray to the LORD for you."- 1 Samuel 7:5b

A moment of introspection: How much is prayer worth?  What would we be willing to sacrifice, to be able to continue to pray unhindered?  Prayer is worth our time, our sweat, our perseverance, our genuine effort.  What would life be like, without the gift of prayer to our heavenly father?  He earnestly desires our communication and our attention.  He encourages us to give time to prayer.  We even hear some describing the "work" of prayer--the intercession beyond convenience and ease.  We have experienced some of that work in our prayer gatherings, and sometimes, prayer is a matter of sweat, deliberate, concentrated labor.  We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses--not only to our faith, but also to our prayer.  We spend time in prayer because that cloud of witnesses relies on our intercession.  We spend time in prayer, with a "host of commissions from our neighbors and friends"--necessitating that we tarry longer in prayer than when we pray only for ourselves.  We have seen the world's increasing acknowledgement of the power of prayer, as it bans its expression in more and more settings.  The world knows the value of prayer; so do we.  Let us echo the commitment of 1 Samuel 7:5b.