When you want to understand, how prayer works, then try to imagine a loving relationship with your best friend or waifu/husbando. Somebody who exists and can understand you. Affirm its positive traits and your goals, why do you want to pray to that entity. For that is yourself, that shall be affirmed, while you work your routines and expressions, for the One True God has no visage and image. You can never reach Him, but listen to the Silent Footsteps of the Shadow of the Lord. To sense the kernel of truth inside of you. Then scholars and sceptics want to rob you of your pride and claim, that nothing exists, that everything is unreal, just listen to them, because their teachings do exist, then don't listen to those quacks. They don't know it themselves, blinded by their false virtues and navel-gazing Narcicism.
Why should you use physicval leibour like chopping wood or doing chores, carrying water, to pray? Because it stops overthinking and releases your mind for prayer. An cluttered untrained mind cannot focus on the Intricacies of Prayer and God. Read your Scrptures and try to visualize and verbalize them alone. Again, don't listen to the peers, because they often are salty crackers, who want to give you lemons, so the schadenfreude would console them, if you fail in the same spot as they did. The worst enemies of yours are Baptised Parents who don't go to church, because they have most baggage, who can get offended, then you try to give you life to Jesus. Don't trust anybody but your own Self, then you have made up your mind in going to that Journey. Not your Pastor, not your Youth Work Leader nor any of your friends, who plead about your skills and wits and beauty. Know yourself, what you want in your life. Shut everything out, what could get in your way, and study on your own. For people sensor your books, for your benefit, which will cripple your awareness and perception, what is right and wrong, so know it yourself. Through your own trial and error you learn more, than the thus says of the influencers. They might mean well, but true knowledge of Christ, starts on the Streets and in the Desert, then you abandon your family and lovedones to seek, what is hidden and invisible. Find out what you wanna do for Christ not the established patterns. Start with the Here I am Prayer. Which you shall find in the Story of Samuel, the Prophet and Isayah; Hosea; Amos of Tekoa. If you need help, write your own, for personal poetry affirms always better, than what you get online or read in books. It contains the words and expressions, what you are ready to receive right now. Don't try to use complex old English interpretations, what are stuck in their Time and use cultural flare, you might not be familiar with. Try to write your Bible Studies down, to make it more personal. Never let anybody else read you the Bible, read it Yourself! Familiarize with different Bible translations, and why they are different, what is their aim, and whom are they distributed. This way you avoid confusion and go past the translators folly and bias. Study Greek; Hebrew and English, like its Playing Diablo 2. then you shall see results in your prayer life, and no sooner than in 2 years. All those gossipers, who claim, prayers dost work, never prayed past 3 days, if they could even pray 5 minutes. Don't do prayer for only Sunday. Commit your entire life to it, for you don't Love only Sundays, but every day! Keep your faith, and don't let anybody take it from you, what you have discovered in your youth! Godspeed Deus Vult!
