Lately I've been allowing myself to kind of drift out of the habit of morning prayer. That's bad. Partly it's due to staying up rather late talking with N. Here's a person who is really hurting, really discouraged. I have a tendency to talk "at" him, more or less babbling on in the hope that something I say will be right. I'm sure that everything I'm telling him is essentially true, but I'm not sure that it's getting through, or that it really meets the need.

Foolishness, foolishness. Most advice seems essentially misleading. Trust the Lord is good advice, but inevitably we wind up undermining that good word with the rest of what we say. Trust the Lord AND do this this and this.

N. is praying a lot. N. is praying more than I pray, that's for sure. N. is seeking God, struggling to abide. And yet, the discouragement returns. The sense of helplessness. Is it helping? Is he getting anywhere? Is the night darkest before the dawn? Is God preparing him somehow, despite appearances, for joy?

I need more wisdom that I've got right now. I need to understand.