Prayer should not be a last resort. According to Oswald Chambers, "we tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there is nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all." Prayer is having a conversation with God, in the expectation that God hears and will answer our prayers. In His Word, God encourages us to engage Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6). We also have His promise that when two or three gather in His name, He will be there with them (Matthew 18:20). For those who have experienced the power of the Almighty, our first inclination often will be to cry out to Him. 19th century preacher, Andrew Murray said, “prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us." Today, let us enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Let us place ourselves before God everyday in prayers. — James 5:13-16