I found this article online:

Prayer is a necessity to mankind because he is incurably religious. It is a universal phenomenon. While not exclusively Christian, it is most real in Christianity because the Christian life is a life of fellowship with God. In no other religion do we find such prayers as are found uttered by men like Moses, David and Paul.

In Biblical religion, the relationship between God and man is genuinely interpersonal. Some things are brought to pass only as man prays (1Tim. 2:1-4). Prayer is essentially communion. God desires man's fellowship, and man needs the friendship of God.

As a many-faceted phenomenon, prayer includes the following elements:

• communion
• adoration
• thanksgiving
• confession
• petition
• intercession
• submission

The pivotal factor in prayer is attitude.

Posture, language, place or time do not matter. Man's heart must be in rapport with God. Jesus has left us an unsurpassed and perfect example of the importance of prayer in one's life (the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6).

The following principles are regulative in prayer:
Prayer avails only as

• it is made in faith (Heb. 11:6; Matt. 17:20),
• in the Name of Jesus (John 14:13; 15:16),
• in keeping with the Will of God (1John 5:14,15),
• under the direction and dynamic of the Holy Spirit (Jude 20),
• by a suppliant who has confessed and renounced sin (Ps. 66:18; Isa. 59:1,2),
• by a forgiving heart (Matt. 6:14-15),
• in a context of harmonious relationships on the human level (Matt. 5:23,24; 18:19),
• with persistence (Luke 11:5-8; 18:1-8).

From the standpoint of human responsibility, prayer is the major element in the out-working of God's redemptive program (1Tim. 2:1-4). Neglect of prayer is a sin (1Sam. 12:23).

That last sentence is a bit scary !! However looking at it :

23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.

I think that it has been misconstrued as its regarding praying for a person and not about prayer as a whole.