Prayer

To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.

-Martin Luther King Jr.-

I have to admit that one of the things I understand the least in my quest to discover God and His will, is the concept/act of prayer. I do not doubt whether or not I should pray, I guess I just don't know "how" to pray, what to pray for, where to pray, when to pray, and just how effective my prayers are. I want to believe that God listens to everyone's prayers...but do they change anything? If I fail to pray, will things not work out because I never asked? I am reading through the book of Acts right now, and I am amazed at just how much they prayed. No decision, no action, nothing was done without prayer. I feel like an idiot, because I feel like I don't pray enough or necessarily for the right things. Paul says that the Holy Spirit prays for us, and I wonder if the Holy Spirit has to step it up a notch with me because of my lacking in this category. Later on, Paul writes that we are to pray continually or pray unceasingly. What does this mean? How much did Paul pray? Is that the standard?

I look at the quote from Martin Luther King Jr, and wonder how I am making it. It is easy for me to go long stretches without prayer or at least serious time devoted to prayer. What aspects of my relationship with God are suffering because of my lack of effort in this area? What am I missing out on, failing to "tap-in" on because of this weakness?

Anyone else struggle in this regard??