"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." - St. Therese of Lisieux
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say: "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God. But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or 'out of the depths' of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer, Only when we humbly acknowledge that 'we do not know how to pray as we ought,' are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. 'Man is a beggar before God'" (CCC 2559).
Prayer is not something that requires us to "break our heads" with effort every time. Sometimes prayer can be similar to the way an elderly couple spends time together during a quiet evening at home, simply sitting in each other's presence without saying many words...