Worrying about how to pray?

Have you ever wondered how you should be praying?
Do you ask the questions:

• What must I say?
• How must I say it?
• Is God even listening to me?
• Do I need to think of stuff to pray for or must I pray for myself or others?

Often,when I lay in bed to pray or if I have a quiet time where I pray or want to talk to God, I sort of think, well, I wonder if He is even listening or am I being selfish by praying about my family and myself and not anyone else.
The first direction we can look in is at the Lords prayer. In that prayer or loads of "subjects" we can pray for. Deliverance from evil, prayer against temptation, Let Gods kingdom reflect here on earth, asking God for forgiveness etc etc.

I was taught to learn the following code when praying:
A - Adoration - praise God for who God is
C - Confession - own up to our sins
T - Thanksgiving - thank God for all God has done
S - Supplication - make requests for ourselves and others

This is a simple guideline. Prayers don't have to be an hour long where you have to explain your whole life to God, elaborate language, eloquent words...You just need to spend time with God. You can close you eyes and say nothing. Feel yourself drawing closer to God, spending time close to Him, allowing His Spirit to testify to you. You can do this for as long as you feel. Sometimes nothing happens, but sometimes "ideas" or "subjects" will pop into your head which have been given to you by God.....and there is a start.
This is one kind of way to pray.

Another code that you may want to remember is this:
Thumb - pray for those closest to me
Pointing finger - pray for those who guide us: teachers, doctors, clergy, counselors, social workers, mentors
Middle finger (tallest one) - pray for those who stand tall: government, civic, and business leaders, police and firefighters
Ring finger (your weakest finger) - pray for those who are weak: the poor, sick, infirm, infants, homeless, and the powerless
Pinkie (the smallest, the least) - pray for me and my needs

I like this one, because it just sometimes helps me remember who I should pray for. IT IS NOT A RULE! If you forget someone, it doesn't matter. If you forget someone and later on you remember when not praying, quickly just close your eye or bow your head or if you cant just pray in your head.

Praying is about spending time with God, not thinking of some careful bunch of words. God already knows what is on your mind. He knows what concerns you, He just wants you to spend quite time with Him and get to KNOW HIM better.
There is no rule that we need to stand or sit or close our eyes or kneel by our beds. Those are just ideas or guidelines. You can pray in your car, at your desk at work, eyes open, drinking coffee, meeting a teller at your local shop.

John 14:13-14 declares, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” According to these and many other Scriptures, God answers prayer requests based on whether they are asked according to His will and in the name of Jesus (to bring glory to Jesus).

So any which way you choose is fine to pray. Spend time with God, talk to Him, wherever, whenever, however you like, just as long as your attention is on God and not on something else while you pray!
Bless you and I pray that your time with God is special!
Amen