“In reality, self-compulsion is the very basis of prayer. Clearly, prayer without desire does not come close to a sincere and voluntary appeal to God. However, it is useful to ask ourselves, “How often do I feel the desire to pray? The honest answer to this would be “Not very often”, and that is the whole point. If we turned to God only when we felt the desire, we would probably pray, at best, once every couple of months. This is why prayer under compulsion is so widespread in church. It helps us develop the prayer skill.”

(From ‘The Catalogue of Good Deeds’ blog)