January 9 James Montgomery, 1771–1854 Men ought always to pray, and not to faint. (Luke 18:1 KJV) Living a life without prayer is like building a house without nails. —Unknown Prayer is releasing the energies of God. For prayer is asking God to do what we cannot do ourselves. —Selected Except for Charles Wesley or Isaac Watts, no writer has made a greater contribution to English hymnody than the author of this text, James Montgomery. He wrote more than 400 hymns,