Prayer's Foundation
The beginning of prayer is to recognize that the One to Whom you are praying exists.
6Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
It is only after a person has come out of the darkness of rejection of Yahweh that they can begin to enter a dialogue with Him (Romans 1:18-22). With this newfound, simple trust—that the person has not come into being by their own desire, but that One greater than them has made them for a purpose—begins a relationship. Before this change of heart, a person is destined to flail around in the seas of foolishness, living their life in a way that rejects reality.
1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good. Psalms 14:1
Have an honest and sincere heart. Do not be double-minded, or false, in coming to Him. He is greater than us and knows our hearts. We cannot deceive Him and it is fruitless for us to try. It will not do us any good but to tell Him exactly what we are already thinking. This is the beginning of a real relationship with any person—truth in speaking. Without this, we cannot hope to receive anything in return from the object of our prayer.
5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. 7For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. 8He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:5-8
Let your prayer be from love. Knowing the greatness of Yahweh by seeing what He has made, the amazing grace He has given us by revealing Himself, will instill in those who understand a real and true love. This does not even begin to speak to the knowledge of what He has done in giving up our Son to pay for our sins against Him. That knowledge will bring a deeper love that is unmatched by any earthly imitation. Truly, He is the beginning of our prayer, for He is the beginning of our love.
19We love him, because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
Finally, keeping in mind this foundation—of trust that God exists, being truthful with Him, and coming to Him from love—it is only natural that we would put Him before everything else. The love that follows knowledge of Him will bring us to a place of seeking Him before everything else. The importance of knowing Him and of spending time with Him in prayer will push aside every other pursuit. This act, of making Him preeminent in our lives, completes the beginning of what it means to pray.
17I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me. Proverbs 8:17
Wisdom here, a type of both Yahweh's Son, Jesus, as well as His Holy Spirit, draws us—not just as a mental concept of using knowledge correctly, but as the truth behind the concept, the Person of Yahweh.