One night a British soldier was caught creeping back into his quarters from some nearby woods. Under suspicion of being a spy, he was immediately brought before his commanding officer and ordered to explain his actions. The soldier answered that he had gone into the woods to pray.

His commanding officer, who was highly skeptical of that answer, sarcastically scoffed, “And have you been in the habit of spending such time in private prayer?” “Yes, sir,” answered the soldier. “Well then,” said the officer, “get down on your knees right now and pray, because I assure you that you never needed it more than you do at this moment.”

Expecting a death sentence for treason, the soldier knelt down on the spot and poured out his soul in prayer. He prayed with such eloquence, emotion, and obvious experience that it was undeniable that he truly was a genuine man of prayer. Consequently, when his prayer was finished, the commanding officer rendered his verdict in terms a military man would use. He said, “You may go. I believe your story. If you hadn’t drilled often, you couldn’t have done so well at review.”

The application of this story is easy to grasp. How much do you pray each day? Is it enough to give you the experience and expertise to pass review? If it isn’t, then you need to find your own “woods” somewhere and start drilling. Remember that even Jesus, God the Son in human flesh, was a man of prayer. And if He needed to pray, so do you.