From a distillation of some of the wisdom from the Puritans, in Living Zealously:
…the zealous parent will make more use of the power of prayer than of the rod of correction…and will talk to God about his children more than to his children about God.
This might seem extreme, but if so, we need to reassess our opinion of prayer. Do we really believe in it? And if so, do we have a correct assessment of its power? Do we really trust in the One whom the power resides, or are we trusting more in our own efforts, in our own system of thought?
What do you think?