Cold prayers ask for a denial!When we ask of the Lord coolly, and not fervently, we do as it were, stop His hand,and restrain Him from giving us the very blessing we 'pretend' that we are seeking.Oh, those cold-hearted prayers that die on our lips!Those frozen supplications would not even move men's hearts,how should they move the heart of God?They do not come from our own souls,they do not well up from the deep secret springs of our inmost heart,and therefore they cannot rise up to him who only hears the cry of thesoul,before whom hypocrisy can weave no veil, or formality practice any disguise.We must be earnest, otherwise we have no right to hope that the Lord will hear our prayer.And surely it should be enough to restrain all 'lightness' andconstrain an unceasing 'earnestness' did we apprehend the 'greatness of the Being' before whom we plead--Shall I come into your presence, O my God,and mock You with cold-hearted words?Do the angels veil their faces before You,and shall I be content to prattle through a form with no soul and noheart?Ah, my brethren, we little know how many of our prayers arean abomination to the Lord.Has not that which is heaven's greatest boon to man (prayer),become to us a dry dead duty?- Spurgeon's sermon, "True Prayer-- True Power!"