Prayer is communication with God. We are to "pray to God" (1Co 11:13, 2Co 13:7). Jesus instructed "'pray to your Father who is in secret'" (Mt 6:6). In a sense it is talking because Jesus said, "'When you pray, say'" (Lk 11:2). Daniel was "speaking in prayer" (Da 9:21). However, Jesus warned, "'you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray on the street corners'" (Mt 6:5). He instructed rather to "'go into your inner room, [and] close your door and pray to your Father . . . who sees what is done in secret'" (:6). How can you be sure the message has been received? We know that "if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us . . . [and] we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him" (1Jo 5:14-15). Even Jesus stated, "'I knew that You always hear Me'" (Jn 11:42). Daniel expected the communication to succeed. He prayed, "'Our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and . . . let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary'" (Da 9:17). Solomon expressed, "'O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place'" (2Ch 6:40). "The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer" (1Pe 3:12).
How and when do you pray? "Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness to pray" (Lk 5:16). "He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives" (22:39). "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there" (Mk 1:35). "After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone" (Mt 14:23). "It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God" (Lk 6:12). However, it didn't require Jesus to be in isolation to pray. "Praying alone, the disciples were with him" (Lk 9:18). But for a little privacy he said, "'Sit here while I go over there and pray'" (Mt 26:36).