Prayer is simply talking to God.
Most of us pray before our meals, but some kids haven't been taught this. Dick van Dyke wrote about one such incident: "One of the most effective ways of sharing the feeling of God's daily presence with the family is to have the children ask the blessing for the evening meal. But of course, many families don't practice this. This explains one little boy's bewilderment when he went with his parents to dine out. He saw a man nearby bow his head and speak in hushed tones. The little boy asked his mother, ‘What did the man say to his plate?'"

Why should we pray?
Have you ever heard someone say – ‘I want to be a Christian but I just can't make it.' That person doesn't have enough power. They can have enough power, however, because God has given us a way.

God has given us a power house
and it is always there
but you must push the button
the one that's labeled prayer
Yes, you must push the button
to gain that power for you
Keep pushing on that button
God's power will come to you.

----author unknown to me                  

What is that power? The power to live good lives, to leave alcohol, drugs and bad habits, the power to live in difficult situations. The power to be somebody, to go to heaven through Jesus, the power to do things we find frightening or hard. But...your mother,father, sister, brother or friend can't do it for you. Each of us must push our own prayer button.

But I don't know how to pray
It's really not hard at all. God hears whether you are talking outloud or silently. Getting on your knees indicates humility, but it isn't always convenient to get on our knees...That's okay. We can talk to God anyway. We can talk to God while we are walking, riding in a car, doing chores. Talk to him anytime and anyplace. No one even needs to know. He is your invisible friend and he's always there to listen and to help. "Pray without ceasing" 1 Thes 5:17.

I don't know what to talk about....
God likes for us to praise him and thank him for being our God. Psalm 117 "O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people." Let him know that you love and appreciate him. Even thank him for being God. Dick van Dyke relates: "A child called away from watching news on TV was asked to say the dinner blessing. With his mind on the latest calamities he said the grace and added a personal note: Dear God, take care of Mommy and Daddy and sister and Grandma. And please take care of yourself, because if anything happens to you – we're all sunk."

God wants our praise. Look at what happened to Paul and Silas. When they were locked up in prison did they grumble and complain? No. Acts 16:25,26 "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prisons were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed." Phillipians 4:6 "Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers." Talk to God about everything.

Listen to the prayer of this little boy when he took his problem to God. He had just learned about the dangers of flat tires and before bed that night he prayed, "Oh, Lord, you know my Daddy is going on a trip tomorrow. If there are any nails or glass or stuff like that on the road, would you push them off before my Daddy comes along?" Yes, pray about your own needs and problems, but don't forget to pray for other people, too. Friends, loved ones and enemies. Pray for missionaries, and the many people in the world that want Bibles but don't have them yet.

When times get blue or you're upset and feel like you just can't pray, PRAY! It's important! The devil likes to separate us from God, the source of our power over him. Don't let the devil get away with it..."Dear God, help me" is a prayer we all sometimes need to pray.

Let God talk back
Good friends like for us to listen to them, too. So does God. He wants to do some of the talking, too. Pause and listen for his leadings after talking to him. Another way God talks back to us is through his written word, the Bible, or through others, such as preachers or parents.

Does God really answer prayers
The closer we live to him, the more answers we will be aware of. For example, a young person prayed as they went to youth camp that a "buddy" would come to camp with her, and God put it on someone's heart to come and be her buddy. A depressed woman had sinned and thought that God could not forgive her again, so she asked God for a sign that he could and would. That same day, another woman who lived seven miles away was praying as she ironed clothes. She asked God, "What can I do for you today?" She felt that he wanted her to give away some Bibles in a nearby town. At nearly the last house on the second woman's route, she came to the door of the first, depressed woman. "You are my sign!" the second woman was told, and the the first woman gratefully received both the Bible and God back into her heart.

Does God answer all prayers

Each prayer is answered
that is so
but for our good
it may be no!

Dick van Dyke relates that "a little girl prayed for a thousand dolls for her birthday. When she didn't get them her dad said, ‘I guess God didn't answer your prayer.' ‘Oh yes he did,' exclaimed the girl. ‘He said no.'" Matthes Henry said if we would have God hear what we have to say to him by prayer, we must be ready to hear what he says to us by his word.

Why would God say no? One reason may be a lack of faith on our part. Math. 9:29 "Then he touched their eyes saying, according to your faith be it unto you." Another reason may be that our heart is not right. Psalm 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." 1 John 3:21,22 "Beloved if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." Another reason that God may say no to us is described in James 4:3 "Ye ask anda receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." If our motive is wrong, God may say no to us.

Jesus said (John 14:13, 14) "whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it." Pray to God through Jesus. Is Jesus in your life and heart today? He suffered and died on the cross for you so that you would have a way to God's power and have help in life's problems. Jesus said, " my sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish." Come to him now. He wants to give you eternal life. Listen to his voice and obey him now.