Lately I've been reading some about revival and prayer, which always convicts me mightily of how little I pray compared to what I'd like to be able to do. The most effective people of God have had powerful prayer lives, sometimes able to pray for hours on end. Some old-time pentecostals would talk of praying "through" an issue to the point that they knew God had heard and would answer, often after hours or even days. I'm not a pentecostal but I have to admire that kind of zeal. I've never had such an experience in prayer though I pray for it -- not consistently enough probably. I have experienced plenty of answered prayer, but the issues that concern me most remain unanswered, family member salvations for instance, revival, more effective Christian life for myself and others. The most I've been able to do is about an hour at a time, very occasionally more than that, and often struggling with distractedness. I have the impression I'm not alone in this, but I'd like to hear from others if they have the same problem or feel they have real prayer power, and any advice about how to get it if they do.

Thank you.