Two women met unexpectedly one day in the parking lot of a local bookstore. One had a great bundle of books in her arms. "What in the world are you doing," her friend asked, "opening your own bookstore?" "No," said the woman, "these are all books about prayer. All my life I have been hearing about the importance of prayer, so I finally decided to learn how to pray. I have bought fourteen books on the subject. And not only that, I have signed up for two courses in prayer, one at my church and one at a friend's church. I am really going to master the subject!"

Several weeks later, the friend ran into the woman again, this time at the grocery store. "How is the big project going?" the friend asked. "Have you learned to pray?"

The woman hung her head and made a gesture of despair. "It was to…