Welcome to answers from an apostolic faith.
In the name of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
What is prayer? Often today we hear of people wanting to pray because they have a big exam tomorrow. I have a big job interview tomorrow, therefore I absolutely need to pray. I have this major decision in my life; I don't wanna waste money, I don't wanna waste any time, therefore I need to pray. But on normal days, however, I don't find any incentive for me to pray. Or sometimes the incentive is I have to put a checkmark on my spiritual canon; I wanna appease my conscience; I wanna appease my father of confession. But is that prayer?
Why do I want to go to heaven? Is it because heaven is this nice place where there's joy and there's no pain? Or do I wanna go to heaven because this is the place where God is, where I want to enjoy Him and enjoy His love for eternity because I have this relationship with Him? The foundation of Christianity is God and our relationship with Him. Everything else is based on that, built on that. But if I want this relationship with God in heaven, it needs to start here on earth through prayer, through me talking to God.
So the purpose of prayer is to enjoy God, to talk to Him, to go deep with Him, to be in communion with Him through prayer. Often that's not what we do. We deal with God as if He's Santa Claus or a vending machine: I put a quarter, I put a dollar, I get whatever I want to get out of Him... but that's not how God is. And unfortunately, even parents disciple their children in that way: Oh you want this game? Ask God. But what am I teaching my son? That's not what prayer is. Prayer is enjoying God, being in communion with Him.
However, although God cares much more about our spiritual life, He also gives us the earthly needs, whatever we need that is earth, but it's not the purpose of our life. So I'll give you an example. Let's say you have a neighbour in front of you, you meet him every day for ten years. You've been saying to him good morning and good evening for ten years now. After ten years, you've been short, a thousand dollars for whatever your needs were, so you go to him and ask him: Can you please help me out with that amount of money? What will he answer you? All you did is to go tell him good morning and good evening every day. He'll answer you and tell you: Who are you? Yeah, I know you live across the street, but what's your name again? Did we ever chat? Did we ever talk to each other, go play something together, enjoy each other's company? Did we? I don't know you... However, if I go to my father, like one of the disciples asked God: teach us how to pray, He told them: say our Father who art in heaven. God is my Father; that implies a deep relationship. So when I go to Him and tell Him that I'm in need, He says: there you go, my son. But if I go to a stranger, he'll tell me: Who are you again?
So God needs to be my Father. Again, the purpose here is not to seek the thousand dollars, it's not to seek God's gift: I seek God, I want God, I love God, but God also cares for my earthly needs, but He first cares for my spiritual needs.
The problem is that we deal with God like we deal with this neighbour, meaning that we stand in front of Him in the morning and we say our Father who art in heaven; we do the same thing in the evening; we spend a total of four minutes with God. Is that prayer? Is that enough for me to be in communion with God? Not enough. We know from personal experiences that when we have a new relationship with someone, let's say a new friend, the more we spend time with them, the more we feel comfortable with them, the more we want to spend more time with them, the more you find rest in this person. They become like even brothers and sisters at some point. That's what we ought to do with God, but it's not only to spend time but to spend quality time... quality time.
For me to spend quality time with God, I need three things. Number one is worship, true worship, meaning I need to step outside of myself and worship the true God. I need to stop asking for earthly things or ask them at the end, not to worry much about them, but to worry about enjoying Him.
So in Isaiah 6, when Isaiah saw God sitting on His throne, he heard the angels sing holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Holy, άγιος (ágios), non-earthly. This is the purest form of prayer, the purest form of worship. I look at God and I say: you are holy. Not I want things; you are holy. This is worship and that's all we ought to do in prayer.
Number two, I need to have a focused mind; I need to clear my mind of all earthly things; I need to focus in prayer. You know the feeling when you're going to an exam and you're about to write an exam, the stress that you feel: we ought to go into prayer like this. I know that I'm about to be fought spiritually by spiritual beings and all sorts of thoughts will come into my mind because they do not want me to pray. But I will go with that focus, so that I may pray with a quality prayer.
And that, in return, will lead to the third step, which will let my soul be lifted up to God. I will taste Him and feel Him with a heart lifted up in ways I have never done or experienced before. Look what St. Macarius the Great says... he says:
''We ought to pray neither according to any bodily habit nor with a habit of loud noise nor out of a custom of silence or on bended knees but we ought to soberly have an attentive mind, waiting expectantly on God until He comes and visits the soul by means of all if its openings and its paths and senses. And so we should be silent when we ought and to pray with a cry, just as long as the mind is concentrated on God...'' (St. Macarius the Great)
What he means is that we need not to worry much if we're standing or kneeling or speaking out loud, praying out loud or in silence. These things are important, yes, but we ought first to be focused on God. So I need to, with my body, show I respect in prayer, but more importantly , I need to focus and if I focus in prayer, God will come and visit the soul and I will taste God in the purest form of prayer, and I will enjoy Him, and I will get hooked and I will want to pray more and more.
Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith. And glory be to God forever. Amen.