Prayer - Why is it so hard?

If you know me, you know that I'm a very social person. I can typically talk, laugh, and have a great time with just about anyone.  I'm definitely a people person.  I'm able to sit and have both light-hearted and deep, meaningful conversations with people from all walks of life. As a social worker, this is a skill that has definitely come in very handy. 

So, why is prayer so hard for me?  Why is having a simple conversation with God so intimidating for me? Why do I feel like I have to do it the "right way" and why do I feel like I have to teach my kids to "pray the right way"?  Ugh...do you know just how frustrating that is?

Over the past two weeks, I've been following along with my hometown church's 21 days of prayer journey and reading daily messages about prayer at www.Talking2God.com. Each and every message is speaking directly to my heart and I'm really feeling God's presence in each one and, yet, its still hard for me to get into that sacred place where prayer is a natural thing.  I never quite know what to say or how to say it...do I say in my head or do I say it outloud?  Do I need to be in a certain posture? How long do I need to pray?  AAAACCCCCKKKK!!!!  Its definitely overwhelming.

Its not that I don't have a lot to talk about with God.  I have a long list of prayers - prayers of thanksgiving and gratefulness for all the many blessings in my life, prayers for others in my life and situations they're going through and requests for blessings over them or protection or strength, prayers over difficult situations or decisions in my own life or the life of my family, etc.  Yeah, I have prayers...but how do I send them to the Big Man upstairs? 

Do you struggle with this?  If you have and have found your groove...what helped you get to the point where prayer came easy and natural for you?  What scares you about prayer or just completely freaks you out?  Let's get it out there and talk about it - the nitty gritty of prayer.