And He hath confirmed His words, which He spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God. that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand Thy truth.

Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He doeth: for we obeyed not His voice.

And now, 0 Lord our God, that hast brought Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and has gotten Thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

0 Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant, and his supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

O my God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and Thy city which is called by Thy Name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies.

O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God; for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy Name.

- Daniel 9:3-19

Can you identify all seven qualities (or affections) of true prayer in this example?

When examining the seven necessary affections (or qualities) of true prayer and reading about various possible stumbling blocks to prayer with their respective practical helps, it is possible that someone becomes overwhelmed and concludes, "I will never be able to pray as I should!" Such a person can feel that he does not have enough faith, enough reverence, enough submission, enough repentance, enough sincerity, enough urgency, or enough thankfulness.

To all those who labor with their shortcomings, failures, and sins, Jesus proclaims, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). The gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for those who cannot find righteousness in themselves, for those who recognize that they fall short on every requirement. Christ came to save sinners, not the self-righteous - the spiritually "poor," not the spiritually "rich."

Therefore, your lack of being that which you should be is no hindrance to the gospel, for it is designed for sinners. If you believe that Jesus Christ can only be for you after you have attained sufficient faith, reverence, submission, repentance, sincerity, urgency, and thankfulness, you are mistaken. If you would ever reach a point