The first of the essential conditions of prayer is faith. We should couple our prayer with firm and unshakable faith that we may receive what we ask for. This was enjoined on us by the Lord Himself: “Therefor I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will.” (Mark 11:24). Likewise the Apostle says: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1: 6,7)
The second condition is that we must link to our petition a strong and firm hope, so that if our prayer is not answered quickly or not answered at all, we should not give up. Rather, we should persist in our petitions and call on the Almighty, night and day, as He instructed us to do in Luke 11:5,18, and in the night of His betrayal when He repeated three times the same words in His prayer. (Matthew 26:44)