Just thought I would start a thread on something that is vitally important to all believers. I will start and lets hope that many more will contribute to this thread to share experiences and thoughts on what is effective prayer.
Here we go...
Is not vain repetition or a magic incantation. It is an outpouring of the soul to Yahveh. It is a one on one personal cry to your maker. This is characterised by praise, petition and thanksgiving. Personal prayer should be suffused with expressions of adoration, praise, celebration and thanksgiving. Prayer is the service of the heart.
Effective prayer is also not just self centered, it is also community orientated. Even when you pray alone, you still pray as a representative of the congregation and petition on their behalf as well as for your own. We must never forget that we who were estranged from the God of Israel and not even a people, because of Jesus we have been brought into fellowship with the family of God and the community of faith. To have our sins atoned by Christ's blood is to be reconciled to God as "our Father" and to be adopted into His family as sons and daughters in good standing. It is to be joined to community, even as fellow citizens of the commonwealth of Israel. Our prayers should reflect this corporate awareness and continually remind us of our collective responsibility.