Prayer is not a ritual, prayer is talking to God.

Psalms 39:12 ?Hear my prayer, O LORD, And give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner, as all my fathers were. (This world is not my home, I'm just passing through)

Psalms 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted in me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his presence.
42:8 The LORD will yet command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song is with me, my prayer unto the God of my life.
42:9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning
...hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him

Psalms 61:1 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
61:3 For thou hast been a shelter for me,


Psalms 143:1 A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications:...
143:6 I stretch out my hands unto Thee: my soul thirsts after Thee, as a thirsty land....
For in Thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee..
143:9 I flee unto Thee to hide me.
143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for You are my God:

Romans 12:9 Let love be without pretense. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, be watchful and alert with all perseverance continue praying for all the saints

Phil 4:6 Be worried by nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
4:7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

Col. 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

1 Thess. 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall bring salvation to the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
5:16 ... pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: therefore be sober, and watch unto prayer.


Matthew 6:6 When you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly.
6:7 But when you pray, don't repeat a lot of vain phrases, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
6:8 Don't pray like they pray: for your Father knows what things need, before you ask him.

6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

TWO TYPES OF PRAYER

1. Nice Phrases and Form or
2. A prayer of Faith from the heart

"There are two kinds of prayer--the prayer of form and the prayer of faith.
The repetition of set, customary phrases when the heart feels no need of God, is formal prayer "When ye pray," says Christ, "use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."

We should be extremely careful in all our prayers to speak the wants of the heart and to say only what we mean. All the flowery words at our command are not equivalent to one holy desire.
The most eloquent prayers are but vain repetitions if they do not express the true sentiments of the heart. But the prayer that comes from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed just as we would ask an earthly friend for a favor, expecting that it would be granted--this is the prayer of faith. The publican who went up to the temple to pray is a good example of a sincere, devoted worshiper. He felt that he was a sinner, and his great need led to an outburst of passionate desire, "God be merciful to me a sinner." (Signs of the Times August 14.1884)

"We need also to pour out our hearts to Him. In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have actual intercourse with our heavenly Father. Our minds may be drawn out toward Him; we may meditate upon His works, His mercies, His blessings; but this is not, in the fullest sense, communing with Him. In order to commune with God, we must have something to say to Him concerning our actual life. (SC 93)

Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him. (Prayer 281)

The opening of our hearts to our heavenly Father, the acknowledgment of our entire dependence, the expression of our wants, the homage of grateful love -this is true prayer.
(SC 94)

There are certain conditions upon which we may expect that God will hear and answer our prayers.

One of the first of these is that we feel our need of help from Him. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, who long after God, may be sure that they will be filled. . . . The heart must be open to the Spirit?s influence, or God?s blessing cannot be received.

Another condition to fruitful prayer is faith. It's the prayer of faith that reaches out to God
(James 5:15) And the prayer of faith shall save . . .
Jesus said to His disciples, ? when ye pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.? Mark 11:24.

Patient Trust is part of prayer.
When we do not receive the things we asked for, at the time we ask, we are still to believe that the Lord hears and that He will answer our prayers. . . . When our prayers seem not to be answered, we are to cling to the promise; for the time of answering will surely come, and we shall receive the blessing we need most. . . . God is too wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. We do not always ask for the things that are for our best good. If we could look into His plan, we would clearly see that He knows what is best for us and that our prayers are answered,

Don't cherish resentment to others
When we come to ask mercy and blessing from God we should have a spirit of love and forgiveness in our own hearts. How can we pray, ?Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,? and yet indulge an unforgiving spirit? Matthew 6:12. If we expect our own prayers to be heard we must forgive others in the same manner and to the same extent as we hope to be forgiven.

There is no right place or wrong place to pray
Unceasing prayer is the unbroken union of the soul with God,
We should pray in the family circle,
We should pray when alone with our God.
We should pray while we work and are active in our daily duties,
and pray when you have quiet time with God.
Make prayer the life of your soul.

Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of His children. ?The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.? James 5:11. His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind.
(Thoughts from the book "Prayer" a compilation from EGW's writings)

Pray with scripture.

Often we may feel like we just don't know how to pray or what to say. We do not want to just repeat the same standard phrases that seem to be the "norm" to pray, we really want to talk with God.

Scripture is full of messages for our spiritual growth -- they are God's words to us.
Take a passage of scripture and talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you see what He wants you to know in the passage, talk to Him about the promises and how they impact your life. Trust in those promises, claim them. Open your heart to Him as to a Friend.

God's Word is alive and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword. When we speak and pray the Scriptures, we are tuning in to God's will, we let Him speak to us, as we seek His will and come into agreement with Him.