It’s important for us to recognize that this fervor is a gift from God. The disciples themselves asked God, “Lord teach us to pray”. It is only by God’s grace that we can experience deep prayer, and not by our own ability. Therefore, keep asking for the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart and your life. God may permit times of spiritual “dryness”, such as a feeling of coldness in our prayers, to remind us that fervor is a gift from Him. This teaches us humility, and teaches us patience. Therefore, endure these times patiently, continuing to be persistent in your prayers and asking God to grant you fervor in your prayers, believing that “everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10). Let us follow the example of the persistent widow in our Lord’s parable, who had her request fulfilled because of her persistence (Luke 18: 1 – 8). Even when you don’t feel like praying and are lacking fervor, force yourself to pray and keep asking God to bless your efforts. And when you are granted fervor in prayer, thank God and recognize that it’s a gift from Him. Also, the more we pray with faith, the more our prayers are answered. This will deepen our relationship with God, and make our prayers more personal and heartfelt. So be persistent in your prayers, knowing that with practice and patience, along with faith, God will certainly shower you with His blessings and His grace. 

Saint Isaac the Syrian said, “Faith in God is the wings of prayer”. And Saint Basil the Great also said, “In asking God for that which is virtuous, do not cease to ask until you have received”. Finally, Saint Isaac reminds us of the importance of persistence by saying, “Without perseverance, no disciple, whether prayer, fasting or vigil, ever bears fruit.”

With practice, you will also discover the things that help you personally to have deep prayer. Maybe there are certain spiritual songs that move you, for example. Perhaps there is a particular hymn that touches your heart. You can always include these songs and hymns in your prayers if they help you feel closer to God. It’s also helpful to say a prayer from your heart, taking as much time as you need to think of the words that best describe how you feel and what you wish to express to God. However, also use the Agpeya to help you pray. The prayers of the Agpeya teach us how to address God. They also give us the words to say when we feel dry and cold. This will help us to prolong the time we spend in front of God in prayer, not just for the sake of vanity, but for earnestly desiring to stand before God until he gives warmth and depth to our prayers. Saint Isaac the Syrian says, “Insofar as man spends effort, struggles and constrains himself for God’s sake, divine support thereupon aids him, surrounds him, makes his struggle easy and paves the way before him.” 

It’s also important for us to pray with a sense of purpose and with a goal in mind. If we pray without a motive, then it will be hard for us to get into our prayers. Therefore, many of the church fathers consider repentance to be the starting point of prayer. So we need to sit with ourselves and examine ourselves regularly. When we feel that we have so much to repent from, this will drive us to stand before God and pray, asking Him for mercy and asking Him to grant us repentance and spiritual growth. So the more we care about our spiritual life, and the more we live a life of repentance, the more we will have purpose and fervor in our prayers. 

Lastly, we must ensure that our prayers are in accordance with God’s will. God desires our salvation, and He desires that we love Him. So let your prayers be focused around your spiritual growth and your salvation. Also make sure that you are submitting to God in your life, without being stubborn or unwilling to give up the things that keep you far from Him. Lastly, be reconciled with everyone, because if you stand to pray in front of God but you are not at peace with others, you will feel that there is a wall between you and God. 

God will bless you and reward you for your sincerity and your earnest desire to grow in your spiritual life and in your prayers. 

More Resources:
+ H.G. Bishop David sermon to our church youth about "prayers and how to pray" ( http://www.saint-mary.net/Fr%20Bishoy/HGBdavid.htm )

PRAYER
By: H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Prayer is to open the heart to God, so that the faithful talks to Him, lovingly and openly. It is laying the individual before God.
Prayer is a tie, a relationship between man and God. Therefore,it is not just talk, it is a heart connected to a heart.

Prayer is a feeling of being in the presence of God. It is a partnership with the Holy Spirit and unity with God...
Prayer is the food of the angels and the spirituals by which they arenourished and taste the Lord, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord isgood." (Ps. 34:8)

Prayer quenches a soul's thirst for God, "As the deer pants for thewater brooks, so pants my soul to you, 0 God" (Ps. 42: 1), "I will liftup my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied
as with marrow and fatness." (Ps. 63:5)

Prayer is the submission of life to God to conduct it Himself,"Your will be done."

Prayer is an admission of our lack of strength. and insufficiency ofintelligence. Therefore, we resort to a greater power where we find ourcare...

Prayer is abolishing our independence from God...

It is meeting with God: either we lift ourselves up to Him or He comes down to us...

It is turning oneself to Heaven and to the throne of God...

Prayer is not an obligation or an order. It is not just a commandmentor piety and devotion... It is a desire and longing... otherwise, itwould be a burden which we, unwillingly practise, just for obediencesake!!

Prayer is not just a request. One might pray without asking foranything... but contemplate on the beauty of God and His life givingqualities... Therefore, a prayer of praise and glorification... is moresublime than that of a request...

Whoever seeks something else besides God alone, will never be able to enjoy prayer as he ought to.

Prayer means dying completely to all the world, an utter forgetfulness to pleasures, where God alone remains in one's thought...

Prayer is the ladder which connects heaven and earth. It is a bridge that we cross to reach the heavenly places where there is
no world...

It is a key to Heaven ...

It is a combination of feelings that are expressed in words Prayer would be without words or utterance

The heart's beat is a prayer ... the eye's tear is a prayer ... the feeling of God's presence is a prayer

In all these shades of meaning, do you really pray?