Not praying is like…  (what follows is a story from a seminary professor of mine, Dr. Don Carson – it may have actually happened to him.  I can’t remember.)

One day a family was driving along the highway and saw a man with car trouble on the side of the road, obviously upset and quite agitated.  They pulled over to give him assistance, and found that the problem was a simple one: he was out of gas.  But more than that, he was beside himself, so upset that he was possibly going to miss an important meeting.

Seeing the man was in obvious trouble, the family in the Good Samaritan vehicle gave the distraught man a ride to the gas station, where he purchased a gas can and a small amount of fuel. They brought him back to his vehicle whereupon he piled out of their car without barely even a good-bye or thank-you.

They continued on their way, not surprised to note the man speeding past them a mile or so down the road.

What did surprise the family was the sight on the side of the road about a half an hour later: the same man again upset and, once again…out of gas.  Apparently he was in such a hurry that he hadn’t taken the time to pull off at an exit and fill the tank.  This time they just smiled and waved, continuing on their way.

The moral of the story: Sometimes we are in such a hurry in life, with so many “important” things to do, that we fail to pray.  Not praying is just like not filling up the car’s gas tank. A Christian can only go so long without prayer before he or she is on the side of the road…out of gas.

²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹ but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28 – 31 (ESV)