Prayer is one of the main agencies through which we are brought ot understand the mind of Christ toward our particular mission and the work of the kingdom of God in general. Undoubtedly the small quantity of intelligent intercessory prayer in most twentieth century congregations is part of the short-circuiting of missionary consiousness among the laity. The establishment of the kingdom of God is an elusive tak; we cannot even see what it involves in our vicinity without specific prayer, and we certainly will have little urgency to carry it out unless we are praying. ~ Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 156-57