cultivating skills

I’ve begun using our nature trail for hiking 3-4 times a week. The map says that the whole thing is about 3 miles in length and it rises from a low point of about 150 meters to the highest point of nearly 230 meters. Some of the climbs are a bit steep. Like all activity of this sort, the more one does this the easier it becomes.

The other day it occurred to me is that one reason some folks struggle to pray when they get in trouble is that they are trying to climb a tough hill with no training. They are trying to suddenly have this conversation with someone they don’t talk to very often and they don’t get why its hard. Its hard because prayer is really a kind of skill… and skills need cultivating… The more we pray ahead of time, the easier the praying when things are tough and I would even suggest, the more the prayer works on US when there has been ample preparation.