prayer

In his book Desiring God, John Piper talks about Christian Hedonism. That is, the pursuit of happiness in Christ. There is nothing wrong with pursuing happiness and pleasure, as long as you are seeking it in the right place, God. He lists several different things as being important in this pursuit, and prayer is what he calls, the power of the Christian Hedonist. As a Christian Hedonist, seeking happiness in life, you never seek your own happiness over that of GOd.
I work out every afternoon before I run out to football practice. I choose to do so at the house in my own setting, at my own pace. Because I am seeking to work out and get stronger, and in better shape as a person and to do so I need to be alone without distractions. There's always that temptation to lift a little more weight, do a few more reps or even do a different exercise simply because you feel like someone might be watching, thereby you start working out for the wrong reason and for the wrong people, getting none of the benefit you are seeking.
It's the same with prayer, it should be that time when you are totally seeking GOd, alone with Him and wanting to grow in Him. You need to do it in the privacy and oneness that you can only find alone.
Matthew 6:6 says, "When you pray, gointo your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in teh secret place"
Jesus is telling His listeners to pray in a quiet, and empty of distractions location. A place where you will be seeking GOd for your own good, and for your own desires and not others. A place where you will pray in a way that it is only for the benefit of your relationship with Him. Far too often we pray in public so that others see us praying, so that they will think more of us, and then we pray longer and more intensely(or so it appears to them) so that we puff ourselves up as Believers. In John 15:7 Jesus tells us that we will ask what we desire. Desire is far different from our wants. And if we are asking what we desire then we are asking and seeking things that are in our hearts. Your heart is where Jesus dwells, that being known then our prayers should be from the heart seeking to fullfil our needs for Him.
Remember my favorite quote from Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest? The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. So regardless of our motives, our public service will be measured by our alone times with God. You fuel your service for Him in your prayer life, in your Bible reading and you do so in the privacy of your down times. Doing so publically adds nothing to it, it only takes away the oneness that is so important in prayer.
So pray hard, do it in private and seek oneness with your Savior during that time, and your public service will be far more fruitful.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!