But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:6 (NKJV)

Make your relationship with God a priority and your prayer life will become strong and healthy. Don't only pray when you are hurting or in pain. Even if you have nothing of concern or worry about, simply draw near to God and enjoy His presence.

We need to learn the value of prayer.

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray to the Father. Prayer wasn’t perfunctory or routine for Him. Prayer was the clearest expression of His close relationship with His Father God. He often prayed alone, seeking the Father's heart and depending on the Father’s strength to do the Father’s will. Similarly, Jesus tells us when we pray in secret, God will openly bless us by bringing us to a completely new experience of His grace, faithfulness, and kindness.

Having said that, Jesus warns us not to behave like hypocrites by making prayer a performance for public approval. Rather, we are to make our prayers sincere, honest and humble, believing our Father hears us and will respond in accordance with His purpose for us.

Don't dismiss prayer as wishful thinking or, worse, overreaching when it was God who gave you the desire to pray in the first place. Because God put the desire in us, prayer is simply echoing back to God what God has already desired, that is to have His will done on earth as it is in heaven.

Prayer reveals the stage of our spiritual maturity and where we need to grow. It shows whether we are trusting our fickle feelings or our most loving and generous Father God. This is especially crucial while we are waiting for God to answer a prayer. While God answers some prayers speedily or almost instantly, there are those He requires faith, patience and steadfastness. If we can learn to rest in God's unfailing love, we can be confident that God will answer all of our prayers with perfect love and perfect timing.