I recently read about an exasperated mom who sent her disobedient little boy to his room. When his time was up, he came out far more confident than when he had gone in.
He said, "I’ve been thinking about what I did and I said a prayer."
"That’s fine," his mother said, 'if you ask God to make you good, he will help you."
"Oh, I didn’t ask him to help me be good," replied the boy. "I asked him to help you put up with me."