Prayer is important because it is our connection with God! First, it allows us to show our Adoration of God for who He is and who we are. Second, it gives us the avenue to Confession to God both for what we have done to sin against Him but also to bring to Him the sins of the church, our Nation and our leaders. Third, it gives us the ability to express our Thankgiving for the answers to the prayers we have laid before Him, And lastly, it allows us the bring Supplications to Him for those things we desire not just for ourselves but for others.
As for answered prayers, God brought us to the Evangelism Explosion Ministry through lots of prayer. From the time we retired in 2005, we were praying God would show us a church in the community where we moved in Georgia and a ministry we could pour ourselves into. As we prayed, God lead us to the Divine Appointment with Darrell Farney (our middle son married his youngest daughter), where Darrell asked if we would join him in starting the Prayer Network for the USA. Ultimately, we said yes after finding the EEI Hq had moved to Asheville, NC, only two hours from where we live.