Jesus is our High Priest in heaven who can understand us and relate to us. Though we can’t literally go to His throne
right now, we can do so through prayer. There, we will find the mercy and help we need for every situation.

The Bible has countless verses about prayer and stories of people who prayed. Just look at the Psalms—they are full of David’s prayers to God! He turned to God in every situation, whether he was joyful, thankful, sad, or angry. We should likewise see prayer as a way to develop a deeper relationship with God. We can talk to Him about our daily lives just the way we would share with a friend.

Personal prayer time gives us the opportunity to cast all our cares upon God. We can tell Him what we may not want anyone else on this earth to hear. Prayer also allows us to open our hearts to Him, asking Him to search us and reveal areas of our lives that need to change. See Psalm 139:23–24. He also speaks back to us through the Bible; that’s why we should combine our personal prayer time with Bible study.

God has so many blessings He wants to give us: the Holy Spirit, victory over temptation, peace, joy, courage, and more. But we won’t be able to receive these blessings if we don’t ask for them! Often, it’s in the asking that God prepares us to receive the gifts He wants to give us.

We are to pray for others—this is sometimes called intercession. Though we can most definitely pray for our needs, intercession for others shifts our focus from ourselves to how we can benefit those we are praying for. We may even find that praying for someone difficult in our lives changes our attitude toward them!

Though the Bible doesn’t prescribe prayer at certain times, it does encourage having a habit of prayer each day. Beginning the day with God helps us to put our priorities in the right place and seek His strength for the day ahead.

God wants to hear from our hearts; He doesn’t want us to just repeat ritualistic prayers. We should approach Him with a sense of reverence for who He is, but at the same time, we can confide in Him the way a child confides in a loving parent.

If you find that your prayer isn’t being answered, take time to evaluate it according to these principles. Remember, our goal in prayer is not simply to get answers. It is also to know the heart of the Prayer Answerer.