Sometimes we put off the easy things. We take them for granted. This could not be more true than with prayer. You can literally pray anytime, but most of us don't do it all that much. Even those that have chosen to be a disciple of Jesus often do not pray as they should. We can clearly see it is something that Jesus did and taught about repeatedly. If we are truly following His example we will do it too.
I cannot think of a better way to weaken a friendship than by not communicating with another person. Think about that when you think about your relationship with God. He is constantly communicating with you through his living word. The more you understand what is being said in it you will come to realize that in your life He is unfolding the truths found in his word by your response to it, for better or for worse. James tells us that if we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. One of the most important things we can do to draw near to Him is to simply talk to Him! Have an honest conversation with Him as often as you can. In your mind, out loud or written down or a combination of all three. Just keep expressing your thoughts, desires and questions to him. When you need help with anything He is always the most important to ask. He will help and always knows the best solutions to any problem.
When you pray, it’s important to remember, God already knows what’s on your mind before you say it. So don’t try to fool him by not being truthful about your circumstances or what you truly desire. There are multiple places in God’s word that tell us to ask God for the things that we want. But this is not to be done solely with selfish intent, purpose or pleasure. When we pray we need to keep in mind that God’s focus is on everyone, not just you as an individual. He tells us that He causes all things to work together for good to those that love Him. The concept of, “together” is not going to focus on just meeting your needs.
There are places in scripture that tell us that He will give us whatever we ask for but His word also tells us that we must ask according to his will for that to happen. So think about it this way. God will give you what you ask for, but He may provide it in ways that you may not understand right away or ever understand. Some people say sometimes God does not answer prayers. This could not be further from the truth if you're praying for something that is of the will of God. Keep in mind that God’s most helpful answer might be by providing you a trial, challenge or hardship that causes you to grow, learn and obtain the most excellent answer or solution through the process.
You might feel like you don’t know how to pray. Do your best not to be discouraged. It is the same with anything else, the more you do it the more you learn how to do it. Still, after you have become more familiar with the process there will undoubtedly be times when we don’t know how to pray about a trial or set of challenges we’re facing. Sometimes words are not enough and when we are weak there are times we can’t talk at all. God understands this, and Paul tells us that in times like these, the Spirit of God will intercede on behalf of a follower of Christ according to the will of God and will express things too deep for words.
The word also tells us to, "pray without ceasing". One way to approach this concept is to remember that God does not require us to do impossible tasks. He knows that to accomplish things we have to focus our attention and that will undoubtedly require that we are not always fully engaged in prayer. Simply don’t forget to do it again each time you can. The more you do it the more often you will see the opportunities arise. Just think, every time something good happens we can take the moment to acknowledge God and thank Him. He excels at providing us good and we are not short on times we can respond to Him in a thankful prayer or approach Him about anything else we have on our mind.
…ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened unto you…
-Jesus