God's command and promise is our sole motive for prayer. Nothing could be commanded more precisely than what is stated in the Psalm, 'Call upon me in the day of tribulation' (50:15). Those who try to wriggle out of coming directly to God are not only rebellious and stubborn, but are also convicted of unbelief because they distrust the promises. John Calvin1

Prayer is the sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God hath promised, or according to the Word for the good of the church, with submission and faith to the will of God.
John Bunyan2

What drives us to prayer? One pastor said, "It's a little bit like loving your wife: you love her for a variety of reasons, and different reasons predominate at different times. Sometimes you pray out of sheer desperation. Sometimes out of unhappiness with yourself. Sometimes because you love the Lord. Sometimes it's a sense of feeling utterly ...