¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried aloud to him,
    and he was extolled with my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ But truly God has listened;
    he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

²⁰ Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me.

A few months ago, I picked up the C.S. Lewis Bible, a hardcover edition of the New Revised Standard Version (which I happen to be fond of) that contains excerpts of many of his writings. Lewis writes that our backwardness in prayer often comes from our sin and “avoidable immersion in the things of this world.” He goes on to quote an old un-named author, who contends that many Christians pray faintly, lest God might hear them– which was never intended.

Are you ever guilty of praying prayers out of habit or obligation that you aren’t really intending for God to hear and take seriously? I leave you with that question to ponder.