James 4:7-17, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
Do you know my friend that God loves you so much that He chose to LIVE INSIDE EVERY BELIEVER as the Holy Spirit the moment we are saved and for the rest of eternity (Romans 8:9)! Literally, God wanted to live inside me and you if you are saved. If you're not a Christian, then God very much wants you to become His child (2nd Peter 3:9). It warms my soul to know that God lives in me and loves me, and has sealed me with His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30).
Persevering Prayer & Answers To Prayer
Carefully notice in Luke 11:5-10 Jesus taught about persevering prayer where we pray for OTHERS. This is where we ought to spend the greater lengths of time, because there are many people to pray for, and many spiritual as well as physical needs. Literally, God wants us to stop thinking about ourselves all the time.
In Philippians 2:5 we are told to have the mind of Christ, and in Philippians 2:4 (the Verse before) we are told that Jesus thought on the things of others. Philippians 2:4-5, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Jesus was concerned about OTHERS, not Himself. Oh, that we would learn this truth as God's children!
So when you go to pray, spend a few minutes on yourself and then spend some quality time praying for OTHERS in your life. Prayer makes a difference! If we don't care about others, then how can we reasonably expect God to cater to our selfishness. Most people pray for themselves, and that's it. Then they wonder why God doesn't answer. It's a total lack of faith. If God openly answered your prayers, then where is faith?
No, the way God works is behind the scenes, in ways unseen as Romans 1:20 teaches. It is the invisible things of God at work that we cannot see, such as the angels, God's power and the Godhead. When we pray we are looking to see God's eternal power, but the Bible says it is invisible, seen only by the things which are made. Pray my friend, and trust what you see around you as evidence that there is a God and He rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
Since God sees what we cannot see, then we must trust Him, understanding that our prayers will often produce very different results that what we had intended. Trust the Lord, for He cares for you (1st Peter 5:7) and has promised to guide us (Proverbs 3:5-7). Do you know that the Bible never says God will answer all our prayers? Rather, the Bible teaches that if we acknowledge God in all our ways, then He will direct our steps. Psalms 34:7, “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." — Luke 6:12
http://jesus-is-savior.com/Believer%27s%20Corner/prayer_made_simple.htm