My prayer life was dragging. I'd been asking God to do work in my son's life for more than fifteen years, and I'd become weary. "Give it up, Marion," I kept telling myself. Discouragement and I had become great pals.

Then one day a package arrived from an old friend whom I hadn't seen in twenty-five years. I smiled, remembering her tremendous faith, and was relieved that she didn't know about my pathetic prayer life. When I opened the package, though, I was aghast. It was a book, Intercessory Prayer, by Dutch Sheets.

I started to read the book, mostly because I knew my friend would ask me about it. When I got to page 208, I found something that spoke to me so clearly, I could hardly believe it!

"There are bowls in heaven in which our prayers are stored," the author wrote. "I think it very likely that each of us has his own bowl in heaven. . . . When enough prayers have accumulated to get the job done, He releases power. . . . Victory goes to the persistent." He included Revelation 5:3-8 in his powerful explanation of "Tipping the Prayer Bowls of Heaven."

I put down the book, picked up my Bible and, sure enough, I found the amazing promise. So I quietly slipped to my knees with a clear mental picture of my son's prayer bowl. It looked just like the huge green bowl he'd always used for cereal. And I prayed:Father, help me fill that big green bowl so full of prayer that one day You'll tip it and Your glorious answer will pour forth!

By Marion Bond West