On Prayerless Praying
Our religion breaks down most often and most sadly in our conduct. Beautiful theories are marred by ugly lives. The most difficult, as well as most impressive, point in piety is to live it. Our praying suffers from bad living as much as our religion does. Preachers were charged in earlier times to preach by their lives or to not preach at all. So Christian everywhere ought to be charged to pray by their lives or to not pray at all.
Of course, the prayer of repentance is acceptable; but repentance means to quit doing wrong and learn too do well. A repentance that does not produce a change in conduct is a sham. Praying that does not result in pure conduct is a delusion; it is prayerless.
We have missed he whole office and virtue of praying if it does not rectify our conduct.
E. M. Bounds