In this webposting is a great quote about prayer’s critical nature…attributed elsewhere to Henri J.M. Nouwen from the book A Spirituality of Living

“Real freedom to live in this world comes from hearing clearly the truth about who we are, which is that we are the beloved. That’s what prayer is about. And that’s why prayer is so crucial and not just a nice thing to do once in a while. It is the essential attitude that creates in us the freedom to love other people — not because they are going to love us back but because we are so loved, and out of the abundance of that love we want to give.”