Why Does Prayer Work?

Anybody who has had a prayer answered, and has accepted that answer, knows that prayer works. I’ve always wondered why prayer works. “Faith” is a simple answer. “Because God loves us” is another simple answer. Those answers work very well for those of us who already have faith to start with. But what about the rest of the people, those who want to believe in prayer but aren’t sure why they should?
Some folks only believe in the power of positive thinking, or vibes in the universe, or other conceptions about bringing to ourselves that which we want. For those people, prayer is still a wonderful answer. The way I see it, we have a need, a worry, an issue, and we want or need it resolved. It is something we just cannot seem to resolve on our own. When we pray, we are concentrating strongly on that issue. When we petition God in that prayer, we are asking for that which we want. In a way, we are also visualizing that desire. Isn’t that a simple but positive way of putting out the vibes into our universe, to bring that answer to us?
Whenever I run into someone who wants a reason to believe in the power of prayer, I try that approach. Very often, it is logical for that person, and it is a step toward faith in God. Dear Lord, please help me to share with others the comfort that prayer brings to me.