No man - I don't care how colossal his intellect - No man is greater than his prayer life." ~ Leonard Ravenhill

Ask

James 4:2

You desire [or, lust for], and you do not have. You murder and are jealous and are not able to obtain. You fight and wage war [fig., dispute and quarrel]. But you do not have because you do not ask.

Believe

Mark 11:24

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Matthew 21:22

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Everywhere, it seems that few believe in miracles. This is the idea called naturalism, and it's a sad religion of hopelessness. We, who follow Christ, must be careful not to be swept along with the tide. We have to swim upstream.

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

1 John 5:14-15

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

James 1:6-7

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

Hebrews 10:22

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Eagerness, Fervor, Passion, Zeal, Ardor, Determination:

James 5:16

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Romans 15:30

Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

Psalms 119:2

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, That seek him with the whole heart.

Psalms 119:145

I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.

Hosea 7:13 & 14

Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.

Ask for forgiveness

Hebrews 10:19,22

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus...Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 9:14

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge (cleanse) your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Isaiah 59:2

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Confess your sin

1 John 1:9

Turn from sin. Forsake your sin. Repent and renounce your sin. Pray for a release from the sin.

Psalms 66:18

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Isaiah 59:2

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Psalms 18:20

The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

1 John 3:20-22

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

Psalms 24:3-6

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah."

1 Peter 3:12

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Make things right

Matthew 5:23-24

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Pray in Jesus Name--pray his prayer.

John 16:23

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

This means that you ask according to the ministry of Christ. It restricts your prayers to those things that Christ can pray though you.

John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Forgive so your prayers will be answered

Mark 11:25-26

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:12

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Matthew 6:14-15

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Pray with the right motive:

James 4:3

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures.

Colossians 3:2

Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.

Matthew 6:5-6

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Pray according to His will. Pray for the right things

Matthew 26:39

And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Our wills should be coming in line with God's will.

Pray with continued prayer

Luke 11:8

I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him as many as he needeth.

Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

The ALT gives the correct continuous verb tense: "And _I_ say to you, be asking, and it will be given to you; be seeking, and you* will find; be knocking, and it will be opened to you.

Luke 11:5-13

And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Luke 18:1-7

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Abide in Christ and listen to His voice

John 15:7

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

1 John 5:14-15

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him

Matthew 4:4

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Give thanks when you pray

Philippians 4:6

Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Colossians 4:2

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Vain repetitions of words without the life of the Spirit are worthless

Matthew 6:7-8

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Ask God to guide and inspire you with His Holy Spirit

Romans 8:14-15

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Romans 8:26-27

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

John 14:26

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

1John 2:20-22 

But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

1 John 2:27 

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Pray with the unknown tongue

1Corinthians 14:14-15 

For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

Act 10:44-47 
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 

Act 19:2-6 
He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

1 Corinthians 13:1 
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

1 Corinthians 14:4 
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

1 Corinthians 14:5 
I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh, with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

1 Corinthians 14:18 
I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:

1 Corinthians 14:21 
In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.

1 Corinthians 14:39 
Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.

...a man who kneels before God will stand before men. Leonard Ravenhill

A good image of persistence in prayer — it is like love of your children — you take care of them and their needs no matter how you happen to be feeling at the moment. Jim Forest

A holy life does not live in the closet, but it cannot live without the closet. E. M. Bounds

A man who rejects the supernatural is like a physician who rejects bacteria. You begin to think he isn’t all there. A physician who says bacteria aren’t real operates from prejudice, not science, and someone who says the supernatural isn’t real operates the same way. Bishop Fulton Sheed

A person without prayer is like a tree without roots. Pope Pius XII

A sinning man stops praying, a praying man stops sinning. Leonard Ravenhill

All I know is that when I pray, coincidences happen; and when I don't pray, they don't happen. Dan Hayes

An unschooled man who knows how to meditate upon the Lord has learned far more than the man with the highest education who does not know how to meditate. Charles Stanley

And there you have the reason why many people pray for the power of the Holy Ghost, and they get something, but oh, so little! because they prayed for power for work, and power for blessing, but they have not prayed for power for full deliverance from self. Andrew Murray

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden. Corrie ten Boom

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear me. Psalm 55:17

Every time you pray if your prayer is sincere, there will be new feeling and new meaning in it which will give you fresh courage, and you will understand that prayer is an education. Fyodor Dostoevski

Everything starts with prayer. Love to pray--feel the need to pray often during the day and take the trouble to pray. If you want to pray better, you must pray more. The more you pray, the easier it becomes. Perfect prayer does not consist of many words but in the fervor of the desire which raises the heart to Jesus. Mother Teresa

God does not listen to the prayers of the proud. Hebrew Proverb

God has left certain things open to prayer — things which will never be done except as we pray. Stanley Jones

he that is never on his knees on earth, shall never stand upon his feet in heaven. C. H. Spurgeon

He who is too busy to pray will be too busy to live a holy life. Satan had rather we let the grass grow on the path to our prayer chamber than anything else. E.M.Bounds

He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has heaven and earth at his disposal. C. S. Spurgeon

He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day. John Bunyan

Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask. Billy Graham

I am as certain as I am standing here, that the secret of much mischief to our own souls, and to the souls of others, lies in the way that we stint, and starve, and scamp our prayers, by hurrying over them. Alexander Whyte

I live in the spirit of prayer; I pray as I walk, when I lie down and when I rise, and the answers are always coming. George Mueller

If there be anything I know, anything that I am quite assured of beyond all question, it is that praying breath is never spent in vain. Charles Spurgeon

If we would return to apostolic practice — waiting upon the Lord for apostolic power — we could then go forth to apostolic possibilities! Ravenhill

If weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere. — Leonard Ravenhill

Above all, don't give birth to sin yourself; rather, pray for those who persecute you. God will one day turn your persecution into praise. Warren Wiersbe

If your faith does not make you pray, have nothing to do with it: get rid of it, and God help thee to begin again. C. H. Spurgeon

In all your prayers forget not to thank the Lord for his mercies. John Bunyan

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. John Bunyan

In souls filled with love, the desire to please God is continual prayer. John Wesley

In worship, God imparts himself to us. C.S.Lewis

It is only in prayer that we can communicate with one another at the deepest level of our being.

It is possible to move men, through God, by prayer alone. Hudson Taylor

Jesus answered. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:22, 24

Learn to worship God as the God who does wonders, who wishes to prove in you that He can do something supernatural and divine. Andrew Murray

Men give advice; God gives guidance. — Leonard Ravenhill

Most men pray for power, the strength to do things. Few people pray for love, the quality to be someone. Robert D. Foster

Never say you will pray about a thing; pray about it. Oswald Chambers

No man - I don't care how colossal his intellect - No man is greater than his prayer life. - Leonard Ravenhill

No man ever prayed heartily without learning something. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other's hearts in prayer. Charles Finney

Nothing you can do will benefit you more than prayer. Paul Y. Cho

Notice, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray! For prayer is a great deterrent. Leonard Ravenhill

Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more essential and yet more neglected than prayer. - Fenelon

Often times God wants us to sit before Him in quietness. He doesn't want us to do all the talking. As Isaiah 30:15 says In quiet and confidence will be your strength. Charles Stanley

People can't see your root system, but God can. Praying and meditating on the Word of God will cause your roots to go down deep into His love. Warren Wiersbe

Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God. and a scourge for Satan. John Bunyan

Pray, and let God worry. Martin Luther

Prayer does not change God, but changes him who prays. Soren Kierkegaard

Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work. Oswald Chambers

Prayer is and remains always a native and deepest impulse of the soul of man. Thomas Carlyle

Prayer is conversation with God. Clement of Alexandria

Prayer is doing business with God and is every bit as practical as any earthly transaction. Virginia Whitman

Prayer is not a hard requirement- it is the natural duty of a creature to its creator, the simplest homage that human need can pay to divine liberality. C. H. Spurgeon

Prayer is not a substitute for work, thinking, watching, suffering, or giving; prayer is a support for all other efforts. George Buttrick

Prayer is not conquering God's reluctance, but taking hold of God's willingness. Phillips Brooks

Prayer is not manipulating an unseen deity to get one’s way, but a risking of one’s being in the incandescent source of love.

Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue; God's voice is its most essential part. Listening to God's voice is the secret of the assurance that He will listen to mine. Andrew Murray

Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude—an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. Arthur W. Pink

Prayer is serving on an executive committee for world evangelisation. Change the World School of Prayer

Prayer is the acid test of devotion. Samuel Chadwick

Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer. R.A.Torrey

Prayer is the language of one burdened with a sense of need. It is the voice of the beggar, conscious of his poverty, asking of another the things he needs. Not to pray is not only to declare there is nothing needed, but to admit to a non-realisation of that need. E.M.Bounds

Prayer is the spiritual gymnasium in which we exercise and practice Godliness. VL Crawford

Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. John Bunyan

Prayer: the key of the day and the lock of the night. Thomas Fuller

Prayers are the very highest energy of which the mind is capable. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Seven days without prayer makes one weak. Allen E. Bartlett

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths, or the turning inwards in prayer for five short minutes. Etty Hillesum

The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me. Billy Graham

The devil’s favourite word is tomorrow. He is always trying to keep us from praying today. One of his main jobs is to keep Christians off their knees. Hope MacDonald

The greatest and best talent that God gives to any man or woman in this world is the talent of prayer. Alexander Whyte

The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray. It is not the only thing; but it is the chief thing. The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time to pray. S.D. Gordon

The more helpless you are, the better you are fitted to pray, and the more answers to prayer you will experience. O. Hallesby

The only power that God will yield to is that of prayer. Leonard Ravenhill

The sovereign God has for his own reasons so designed the world that much of what is truly his will he makes contingent on the attitudes of human beings. He allows humans to make decisions that can influence history. Human inaction does not nullify the atonement. We do not and cannot in anyway take away from the wonderful truth of Jesus’ gift of salvation but human inaction can make the atonement ineffective for lost people. Peter Wagner

The spirit of prayer is more precious than treasures of gold and silver. John Bunyan

The time to pray is not when we are in a tight spot but just as soon as we get out of it. Josh Billings

The work of praying is prerequisite to all other work in the kingdom of God, for the simple reason that it is by prayer that we couple the powers of heaven to our helplessness, the powers which can turn water into wine and remove mountains in our lives and the lives of others, the powers which can awaken those who sleep in sin and raise up the dead, the power which can capture strongholds and make the impossible possible. Professor Hallesby

Those who know God the best are the richest and most powerful in prayer. Little acquaintance with God, and strangeness and coldness to Him, make prayer a rare and feeble thing. E. M. Bounds

To get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees. Billy Graham

To pray is nothing more involved than to let Jesus into our needs permitting him to exercise his own power in dealing with them.

To pray well is the better half of study. Martin Luther

True prayer is measured by weight,-not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length. C. H. Spurgeon

We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. Oswald Chambers

When we are one with God’s love, we own all things in him. They are ours to offer him in Christ his Son. For all things belong to the sons and daughters of God and we are Christ’s and Christ is God’s. Thomas Merton

When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message. Oswald Chambers

Whether we think of, or speak to, God, whether we act or suffer for him, all is prayer, when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him. John Wesley

You can do more than pray after you've prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed. John Bunyan

Your Father knoweth what things you have need of, before ye ask him. The Bible, Matthew 6:8