Effective praying?  Just speak!  Ask, acknowledge, and receive.  Open your heart and talk to God.  I was taught by my one of my sponsors, to pray for Gods will to be done and everyone involved to have acceptance of it.  I was taught to pray in the morning and ask for my Higher Powers Guidance throughout the day to help keep me sober, and thank him at night for doing just that.  I had later in sobriety found a scripture that in Psalm 37.4 that says, If we want to know what God wants for us, just ask.  He will give us the desires of our hearts, to lead us in the directions that we should go.  This has been a very important prayer in my life. 

In Philippians, God tells us to look at the birds in the trees, and how they don't have to warehouse their food, or worry where it will come from.  He says to look at the flowers on the ground and how magnificently they are dressed.  He says, "If I do this for the least of you, what do you think I would do for you, who is my own?"  I believe in that and survive on it.  If your not into "God", you may have a hard time with this page.  Take what you need and leave the rest.  I did find some more information on effective praying.  I hope it helps.