The Spirit prays for you
Romans 8:26 — 'The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.' You are not praying alone.
In suffering
When you don't know what to pray
There are seasons when prayer dries up — when grief, exhaustion, or doubt make your own words seem impossible. The Spirit prays for us, and the saints have left us words we can borrow.
Pray someone else's words until your own come back.
Borrow the Psalms
Psalms 13, 42, 88, 130, and 142 give you words for the darkest places. Pray them honestly. God can take it.
A prayer of Augustine
'O Lord, our God, grant us grace to desire you with our whole heart; that so desiring, we may seek and find you; and so finding you, may love you; and loving you, may hate those sins from which you have redeemed us. Amen.'
A prayer from the Book of Common Prayer
'O God, the Father of mercies, look upon me in my weakness. Strengthen me by your grace, and grant that I may pass through the things temporal that I lose not the things eternal. Through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.'
When you can only say one word
Say 'Father.' Say 'Jesus.' Say 'help.' He hears.