Quick and Quiet Prayers

In the twentieth year of the reign of Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah said a quick, silent prayer. While he was serving wine to the king, the king noticed his sad countenance. After Artaxerxes asked why Nehemiah was sad, Nehemiah responded that his concern was for his homeland and his people (Neh. 2:3). Jerusalem had been desimated. Nehemiah was now captive in a land which to him had no significance.
When the king asked Nehemiah if he had a request, Nehemiah said one of those two-second, inner-man prayers (Neh. 2:4). He was in the middle of a conversation with the most powerful man on earth, but he didn't forget the One who had given the king his power. His request to go home and rebuild was granted. Artaxerxes even gave him the tools and the workers he needed to finish the work.
Sometimes we get in situations that are difficult to face. It gets even tougher when there is so much going on there seems to be no way to ask for help. But we can say a quick and quiet prayer, and God will hear us.
It is not in the power of the prayer itself that deliverance is realized. It is not the length, the eloquence, or the timing that gets things done. God is the power. God is the deliverer. He hears the prayers- even the quick and quiet ones.

"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).