Prayer is relationship. 
No prayer, no relationship.
No relationship, no power of God.
No power of God, no ministry.
Prayer is not a segment of time on your list of things to do for the day. Check that baby off so we can get on with other things! It is not about getting things from God only.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Seeking God and His kingdom. That is what he wants us to do.
Cool verse in Matthew 6:6
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.
A good Greek rendering of that verse is:
Whenever you may be praying, be you entering! into the storeroom, and locking the door, pray-you! to your Father, to Him who is hiding (or hidden), and your Father, the one observing from his hiding place, shall continually pay you (give to you) in a visible way.
This means so much! Observe:
1. There is a storeroom to enter when we are praying (Imagine what is in that storeroom!)
2. Lock the door. You will be there for quite some time.
3. Pray you! Try not to yield to the prayer nap too often.
4. Your Father is hiding. So he likes hide and seek- hence the common biblical phrase “seek God”.
5. The one observing. He sees you. And when you are not there, he misses you.
6. Continually pay. There is a constant payback for those that do the above.
jimmy tate
May 15, 2011 at 17:45
prayer….i still hear ravenhill bellowing!
“no one is greater than their devotional life!!”
Jesus left the crowds- to spend time with His Father.
the disciples awoke to find Jesus missing…
they found Him praying.
Mark 1:35-36….”prayer is greater than ministry; ministry emanates from prayer/intimacy.”
at His baptism, while He was praying “the heavens opened up.”
on the mount, as He prayed, He was transformed….