The first prayer I was taught was;

God is great
God is good
Let us thank Him
For our food
Amen

That was cute, but it's cute when your five not when your 35

Then I learned;

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord
My soul to keep
If I should die before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take

Again cute when you are 5 and building your memorization skills not when your 35 and should not be memorizing your prayers.
It can be creepy too, if you think about it .
Your mom is basically telling you,"Sweetie pray that if you die tonight you go to Heaven."
It's no wonder so many adults of my generation have anxiety.

Prayer to me has always been a very private thing. It's a conversation between me and God. Whenever I hear someone praying I try not to listen and even move from where I am, as to give the person praying, some privacy. I feel like I am eavesdropping and it's very uncomfortable.

As I grew older the repititve prayer thing was not working for me and I'm sure God wanted to hear something else beside the same old thing.
For a long time from teen to twenty something, my prayers to God were very casual and honest I would pray while washing the dishes, cooking, walking the girls to school or lying in bed.
I was always amazed and sort of uneased by prayers coming out of some people when they prayed aloud.
"Altisimo Dios Y Padre Celestial que mora en los cielos...." That's just the intro. This prayer was most often done in a very loud and pretentious voice. I would often think "Who are they trying to impress?" I would secretly wish no one would ever ask me to pray aloud because I didn't have any fancy intros.
There is also what I like to call the "fast food/express prayer" This is when people pray aloud and think the more words they put in the prayer, the better it sounds and the quicker they say it the more spiritually saavy they seem. I always think God id not going anywhere He has all the time in the world. Slow down.
But praying aloud is a very hard thing to do. You are interceding and at the same time ministering to the congregation in demonstration of your faith that God answers prayer.

I enjoy praying and have taken to bringing some praying music with me to church to help create an atmosphere of reverance and inspiration. My favorite tracks are; anything by Vicki Yohe, Twila Paris or Bryan Duncan's "My utmost for the Highest."
I have often said that even the praise comes from God. I believe it was Russ Taff who wrote:

Even the praise comes from You
Every prayer that I raise
Comes from You
Fill my heart with words of worship
And I'll give them back to You
Because Lord they are not my own
They come from You alone
Even the praise
Every feeling and phrase
Even the praise comes from You

I think of those words often and have even prayed them to God sometimes.
Prayer is intimate. It is beyond reverant. It is holy.

Praying aloud is still a challenge for me but I am learning. I am learning not to rush when I pray aloud and to be just as reflective in the my "aloud" prayers as I am in my private prayers.
Why do we rush and why do we try to impress? Talk to God He knows the real us. He knows when we are blowing hot air and when we are humbling genuinely before Him in holy fear and in sincere love.
I will not practice praying aloud. I want to be real with my God. He deserves that and much more.
Many times I wish I had a crown! Yes, a crown!
So I can do what I think is the most beautiful and humble gesture in the entire scriptures.
The elders realized when they stood before God How wonderful and full of love He is. How loving and merciful He is and how undeserving they were and the act of throwing their crowns at His feet and crying "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." moves me to tears everytime I think of the gesture or read about it.
"Worthy is the Lamb of sincere and honest prayer. Worthy is the Lamb of unpretentious and show offy prayer.
Worthy is the Lamb of the real you.
Worthy is the Lamb

Does prayer really make a difference?
2 chronicles 20:1-30 Prayer gets you ready for God to act
Jeremiah 21:1-10 -Prayer prepares you for God's answer even when it "no."
Matthew 7:7-12 Prayer cultivates a searchng heart
Luke 18-1-8 Prayer both demonstrates and strengthens your faith
2 Corinthians 12:6-10 God always responds to your requests

God Bless You

"...Every prayer that I raise comes from You..."