Prayer is no magic wand.

You can't just wave a magic prayer in the air and everything changes.

Sacrificial prayer will cost you.

It will cost you effort.

You know, one of the amazing things that I have discovered about those "over-night success stories" ... is that they are never over-night.

Regardless of who they are, the story is always the same. There are countless hours of sacrificial effort. There are failures. There are disappointments. There are moments when tempted to quit. But then ... there is effort.

Prayer is no magic wand.

It is work. It is hard work.

I've never met a person who made a difference, who did so without putting forth a lot of effort.

If our prayers are going to make a difference, it takes effort. Prayer doesn't reduce your work-load or make life easier; sacrificial prayer / effective prayer, can make your life more stressful, the demand greater, and the concern deeper.

But prayer is worth the effort. Are you laboring in your prayer?

I like how the message paraphrases 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3. "Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you're in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father."

It speaks of "day and night" prayers. Prayers about work, labor, patience ... in a word ... EFFORT.

Sacrificial prayer takes real effort. Maybe that's why you need a partner in the work of prayer; someone to keep you in the effort.