The “ought to” prayer is like perfume - welcome but not really essential to the air. Jesus saw prayer as “must do” - the oxygen that life depends on.
Our understanding of God informs our relationship with Him. Jesus understood that and so His teaching about prayer has more to do with God's character than a systematic "how to pray".
We often approach God with an idea that we have to “break through” to Him. Figuratively that He lives in a fortress with walls that we have to climb over or tunnel under so we come up with all kinds of elaborate schemes as to how we can get in.
Thinking if we can just run faster - then maybe we can leap over the walls or if we can find the right tool then maybe we can dig through the wall a little each day. If we can just say the right words at the right time standing in the right spot - maybe the gate will open.
That’s religion and Jesus often used the odd approaches of the religious as examples of the unnecessary. Our prayers do not reach God because of who we are or anything we do. God opened the gate from the inside. Prayer is dependent on His Grace.
