How to pray effectively

James  5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The life source of every believer is prayers because it's an opportunity to draw from the very life of God making you more and more like him, in the place of prayer a whole lot of addictions and short comings  falls  off the life of the believer without even knowing, because in the place of prayer you have access to the refiners fire and it works to make you better.

Prayers is not just an avenue to get our needs meet, a lot of believers have turned prayer to an opportunity to always ask and recieve, which is not a totally bad idea but prayer is more than asking and receiving, prayer is a fellowship an intimate relationship where you rub your heart and mind with divine presence. It's a place where we come to meet our maker and draw life and strengthen our lives. The intention of God for man is relationship not religion,  at the garden in Eden God was always coming to man in the cool of the evening for fellowship because relationship grows in the platform of fellowship.

 for our prayers to be effective its has to fervent, heart felt, continuous. It has to be a life style and not a duty, it has to  be easy flowing  and not burdensome, it has to be everytime and anywhere. We have to see it as a meeting with God.
To pray effectively you will have to pray the word, talk God's word back to him.
 For our prayers to be effective it has to be done in love. Pray because you love the lord pray because you love to fellowship.  prayers done out of love is done in the flesh as a result it has no effect, walk and pray in love. And a prayer done in love is done in faith. The success of a relationship is the love in that relationship so also the effectiveness of your prayers is the love you have for God. Do you see God as someone you can use? Come and take until there is a need again, or do you love to be at his presence in the place of prayer.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2
[1]If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
[2]If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

To pray effectively you have to pray in the spirit, when we pray in the spirit by speaking in tongues we pray better because at this point our spirit is praying. At this point the holy spirit touches areas of our lives that needs changes the holy spirit helps us to pray. So the most effective prays is the prayers done for us by the holy spirit that was why apostle Paul could say I pray in tongues more than you all. I encourage you to always cultivate the habit of praying in the spirit consistently for this will make your prayers effective.pray in tongues now.

Romans 8:26-27
[26]In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
[27]and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.