Prayer is one of the things that should be seen in the lifestyle of a believer. Prayer is a link through which we use to communicate to God. It reminds me of a hymn that says if there be any struggles we are going through in life we should bring it before the Lord in prayer. Carrying out such act shows our dependence on God.
But there is a very important tool needed when praying; and that is faith. If we are praying without believe then it is mere ritual we are carrying out and our prayers are likely not to get answered because such kind of prayer is in vain. Ever noticed in some occasions in the Bible before Jesus healed someone He'll first of all ask them if they believe they can be healed before He proceeded to heal them?
The reason He asked was because if they didn't believe they may not receive their healing. Even when the woman with the issue of blood got healed it wasn't because Jesus laid His hands on her but because she believed strongly in her heart that just by touching the helm of Jesus' garment that she'll be made whole. And Jesus' reply to her was your faith has made you whole.
Faith is very powerful. The Bible also told us how He departed from His hometown because He couldn't do much over there due to the unbelieve of the people. The backbone of prayers is faith. If we truly desire answers to our prayers then it must be done in faith
For our prayer to be answered we need our faith to be alive.