Matthew 11:28-30
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (MSG)

What is Prayer? Prayer is simply talking to God

Philippians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

3 THINGS ABOUT PRAYER

1. Pray Constantly

“The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but un-offered prayer."
- FB Meyer
Romans 12:2
be devoted to prayer (KJV)

Devoted (pros-kar-ter-eh’-o): to attend constantly

Acts 1:14
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. (ESV)

Acts 2:42
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (ESV)

Acts 6:4
But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. (ESV)

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving (ESV)

Luke 11:1
He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” (CSB)

Luke 5:16
[Jesus] often withdrew to deserted places and prayed (CSB)

To be consistent in prayer we have to do two things:

Prioritize it

Find a Place

2. Pray Persistently

Luke 18:1
Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. (CSB)

Luke 11:9
So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. (CSB

"It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that, in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.” — George Muller

3. Pray Effectively

James 5:13-18
Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.

Matthew 21:18-22
Early in the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it and found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” At once the fig tree withered. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer

"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer.” - John Wesley