One of the greatest secrets to prayer is persistence.
Some fishermen were caught in a sudden storm on Lake Superior. It seemed that unless something happened, their boat would be swamped. One of the men were experienced at prayer, so they selected one of theme to pray. The one selected to pray hadn’t been to church in a number of years and confessed he hadn’t done much praying during the recent years either. Nonetheless, he was asked to speak on their behalf to the Almighty. As he prayed, the words came…”O Lord, I haven’t asked you for anything for 15 years. And if you deliver us from this storm and bring us safely to land again, I promise that I won’t bother you for another 15 years.” This man needs to learn the real secret to prayer. The more persistent we are-the more we “bother” God-the more we ask, seek, and knock, the more we prove we know one of the secrets to a good prayer life.
From Christopher Martin’s Sermon: Secrets to Prayer