E. M. Bounds on Prayer

Prayer is not the foe to work, it does not paralyze activity. It works mightily; prayer itself is the greatest work. It springs activity, stimulates desire and effort. Prayer is not an opiate but a tonic, it does not lull to sleep but arouses anew for action. The lazy man does not, will not, cannot pray, for prayer demands energy. Paul calls it a striving, an agony. With Jacob it was a wrestling; with the Syrophenician women it was a struggle which called into play all the higher qualities of the soul, and which demanded great force to meet. ~E. M. Bounds, Purpose in Prayer