The mystic St. Theresa of Avila once lamented: There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers. A greater tragedy in the church today and in the lives of believers is not unanswered prayers, but unoffered prayers.

We say that we love Jesus, but we don’t talk to Him. And when we do seek Him, we most often talk at Him and not with Him. True Christian prayer is a dialogue in which we are more anxious to listen than to speak. Jesus says, when you pray…not if you pray (Luke 11:2). Prayerlessness is not an option for the Christian Disciple. In fact, prayerlessness is sin: Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you. (1 Sam 12:23)

Prayer expresses the believer’s uniquely personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Prayer reflects a right relationship with God. If you are tired of being a weak, powerless and frustrated Christian, then pray! So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Lk 11:9-10)

Persistence in prayer is not the same as repetition. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the hypocrites do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. (Matt 6:7) Your prayer does not need an audience, volume, felicity of speech or length to be effective. In fact, your prayer should be so specific and timely that you should know the answer today: Give us day by day our daily bread. (Lk 11:3)

Prayer is a daily expression of our relationship with God as our provider, our pardoner and our protector.
The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. (Ps 104:21) When we pray over our meals we acknowledge and bless God (not the food) for providing our daily sustenance. We eat so much and of such great variety that we sometimes forget the persistent cry of the poor, who ask God for nothing more than enough to survive or to stave off the grinding grip of their children’s hunger. The crumbs from our tables could feed the world, but instead we pamper our pets with succulent tidbits. When you pray, say: Dear God,
we receive this food in the name of those who will not eat this night. Make us truly grateful and worthy of
such a blessing. Amen.

Jesus gave us a model of prayer in what we call The Lord’s Prayer. It is better called, The Disciple’s Prayer, for unlike Him, we are sinners. Jesus could never have prayed, And forgive us our trespasses (sins or debts), as we forgive those who trespass against us. (Lk 11:4) The truth is that we sin on a daily basis and we must seek Our Savior and ask His forgiveness, which He is desires to give immediately and completely, on the condition that we are willing to do likewise: First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matt 5:24) God cannot forgive us if we are unwilling to forgive others. There are two conditions for answered prayer in the area of forgiveness: contrition and mercy. When you pray, say: Dear God, remove all resentment in my heart. Give me the power to forgive and the will to forget the past so that I may be assured of my salvation. Amen.

Our prayer stands between us and the evil that threatens to destroy us through our basest needs. The Lord watches over everyone who obeys Him, and listens to their prayers. (1 Pet 3:12) Now we pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified. (2 Cor 13:7) When you pray, say: Dear God, protect me from myself. Let me feel at this moment of testing the pain and the shame I endured in the past. Amen.

Prayer is not sending God to get what you want; prayer is getting you ready to accept what God wants. God knows what you need: If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Lk 11:13) Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (Matt 6:8) The question is, do you know what you need? We must sound like infants to our Heavenly Father. We cry and whine and leave Him like any parent wondering what His child wants? God does not need our prayers, we do! The very fact of our prayer is His divine gift to us, and it is for us to use this gift gratefully, humbly and frequently.

Prayer helps us discern, refine, focus and articulate our needs. If prayer offered no greater benefit (and it does) than knowing ourselves on the need-level, then that alone would make it more valuable than all the self-help psychobabble we indulge in. When you have tried everything else, try daily prayer; it works every time! AMEN.