A friend of mine has said he has two things in his heart, cholesterol and sin. The former has gone down considerably, but the latter is still operating strongly. Self-centeredness means centeredness on sin. My self is sinful. It is by God's grace alone that I am reading the Holy Bible and praying. This sincere "need" for the Word of God and for communion through prayer with my Lord and Savior is not only a "cause," but an "effect." God's grace has put our prayers on our lips (we are in a sense praying the prayers he would have us pray, yet we retain our "freedom"). Then our prayers are "answered." Let's remember that we are praying to Him from within His own family. We are adopted. We call him "Abba" or even friend. It is not as though we were lone individuals praying to him, but we pray out of our relationship. He lives in us and we in Him (see John 17). My friend, Pastor Adam, learned I was going to exhort at a tenants' party in Brooklyn, NY. He prayed that the Lord would give me clarity. When I arrived home, I clearly saw what would be said and wrote my outline. His prayer was "answered" within the context of the close relationship and familial association we enjoy with God Almighty. Let's keep pleading with Him and leaning on Him in heartfelt obedience, and the revival we experience as individual Christians on a day-by-day basis will -- eventually -- spring up amazingly as rivers of faith wash whole communities and nations clean.