The best type of prayer is simple, spontaneous prayer.  In other words pray whenever you feel the need.  Of course, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, prayer comes easier.  The easiest person you can talk to is Jesus, you don’t need to be an eloquent speaker.  He will understand perfectly what you are trying to say to Him.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus gives instructions on how to pray.  Here’s what he said in verse 7:

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do.  They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again.  Don’t be like them because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

He then goes on to give an example of what to pray for by what we call the Lord’s prayer today.  You can say the Lord’s prayer in your own words, or pick aspects of it and concentrate on that.  For example, where it says, “Give us this day our daily bread”, is praying for your daily meals.  If you have a problem putting food on the table, then pray specifically for that.

God does not care about eloquence or how many fancy words you know.  He just wants to hear what is in your heart.  These are the prayers he listens and responds to.  Praying is not difficult.  Just think of God as your best friend, and you will be surprised at how easy it becomes to talk to Him.

Could you remember a time in your life when there was an emergency or something tragic happened and you called out to God for help?  Do you remember what you said?  It could have been a simple ‘please God, help me”.  This would have come directly from the heart without you even having to think about it.

Simple prayers are effective prayers.  If you don’t know what to pray about just take the Apostle Paul’s advice:

“Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”  Philippians 4:6

This is a very important aspect in developing your spiritual life.  Your quiet time should not be less than one hour.  You can break this down by spending 15 minutes praying, 30 minutes reading your bible and 15 minutes meditating.  Of course if you can devote more time to your quiet time, that’s even better.

You can add reading a spiritual book, listening to an audio sermon or gospel song.  Either way make God’s time the most important item on your agenda for the day.

If it is possible, try and make it the same time everyday.  It can be early morning or late evening.  Once you’ve developed a schedule it becomes easy.  Of course, with life being what it is, it may not be possible to keep this schedule everyday, however, whatever you do, try not to postpone it.  Always make time for your quiet time.

If you study the life of Jesus Christ, he always made time to pray and prayed often.

“The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray”.  Mark 1:35

“But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer“.  Luke 5:16

“One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night“.  Luke 6:16

Jesus always made time for his quiet time.  Even before his crucifixion, he prayed three times in one night.  This was how he got strength to face his final hours.

“Then Jesus brought them to an olive grove called Gethsemane and he said, “Sit here while I go on ahead to pray… He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will not mine.”  Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep… Again he left them and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, your will be done.”  He returned to them again and found them sleeping, for they just couldn’t keep their eyes open.  So he went back to pray a third time, saying the same things again.”  Matthew 26:36-44

Once you’ve gotten into the habit of spending quality time with God, you can face any situation in your life, and thus, strengthen your spirituality.