Everybody says they do, but most really never pray with any degree of focus as if God were real and really listening. The prayers of most are mostly just grumbling about life to God. My relationship with Patty is mostly about the intimacy of our communication, good communication – good marriage, poor communication – bad marriage. It isn’t rocket science, it is mostly an issue of time, intimate communication takes time, pure and simple, and most would rather have a bad marriage then give the time needed to make it good. God blesses those who give Him quality and quantity of time. He blesses them with strength, with joy, with peace, with wisdom, and with healthy relationships if they would spend time with Him in prayer. A first step to a healthy and powerful prayer life is faithfully reading the Bible, faithfully as in daily. Proverbs 28:9 says, “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, (the Bible) Even his prayer is an abomination.” I don’t think someone whose prayer is considered an abomination by God is going to get many answers”. Some good self evaluation questions are, “Do I have strength to manage trials well, and to carry the responsibilities of life with confidence?” “Do I have joy that is constant in spite of life?” “Do I have great peace?” A superficial, cultural, and make believe walk with God will produce no strength, joy, or peace.