Prayer comes before mercy. Look at history: nearly every great mercy was preceded by prayer. You've seen this in your life too. While God has blessed you with unexpected favors, significant prayers have always paved the way for great mercies.

When you first found peace through the cross, you prayed deeply, asking God to clear your doubts and relieve your troubles. That assurance came through prayer. When you've experienced profound joy or deliverance from severe trials, you could say, "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Prayer sets the stage for blessing.

It leads as a shadow before the blessing. When God's mercies shine on our needs, prayer stretches out as its shadow. Or think of mercy as a hill, with God behind it casting the shadow of prayer on our hearts. In prayer, we sense upcoming mercies. Without asking, we'd see blessings as ordinary, but prayer makes them as precious as diamonds. What we long for becomes truly precious when we earnestly seek it. "Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw; it climbs Jacob's ladder, strengthens faith and love, and brings every blessing from above."