I'm not sure there's anything more important in establishing a relationship with God than fervent prayer. It's how we can hear from God, and it's the only way that God can hear from us. To say you have a close relationship with God without prayer is like saying you have a close marraige but never talk with you spouse. Won't happen. James gives us the example of Elijah for prayer, and that even though he was one of the greatest prophets, we can still be like him and engage with God through fervent prayer. As the saying goes, "Pray like you life depended on it!" because it does.
From Proverbs 2:7 we read, "He stores up wisdom for the upright, He is a shield to those who walk uprightly."
God is a God of wisdom, but He is willing to share and give us wisdom. However, we essentially have to earn it by living in a righteous manner. When we do, He provides us with the guidance and protection we so despartely need.
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
What makes this verse so memorable, is its simplicity. Trust God, acknowledge God; then He helps you. God always makes His instructions to us easy to follow (perhaps it's because we're no smarter than a sheep). It tells us that our wisdom will come from God, but only if we trust Him. When we give our heart to God, our mind to God, then we know that everything we do is directed by God, and we're receiving instructions directly from Him. Whether it's about people, money, jobs, kids, or any other part of our life, it's like having God right behind us holding our shoulders and turning us this way or that way, saying "Do this, do that, don't go there." I had a direct experience with that when interviewing with two separate companies in the same week. One was with people who were professional, courteous, engaging, and respectful; while the other was with people that essentially ignored me while I was there. God made it very clear what I should do. He took me by the shoulders and turned me to the company He wanted me to work for.
Today is the day our Lord and Saviour died for our sins. While we have the account of everything that happened on this day in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there are some other good accounts on-line and I encourage you to go review them, in particular, at Wikipedia.Blessings to all
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