These are good and challenging questions. You are joined by many who have thought the same thing. There is no easy answer but here are things for you to consider.

• We struggle with a lot of these issues because we typically think of prayer as just asking God for things. If your prayer life only consists of you asking God for things, you will struggle. Prayer is more than asking God for things. How would you like to have a friend who only asks you for things. What if your spouse did this? We are not saying don't ask for things but prayer is so much more.
• Ultimately, prayer changes us. If we pray for a difficult person in our life and they don't change, maybe God is trying to change you? Maybe you are the answer to that prayer.
• You might be mad at God. There can be many reasons why people can be mad at God. Maybe they prayed and prayed for something and it didn't happen. An example might be someone who prayed for a loved one who battled cancer and eventually died. You might have a bigger problem than prayer. You might have a problem with God. You are not the only person in history who has been in this boat. The important thing is to work through this. Be intentional. Involve others to pray for you. Talk to your pastor or others you trust.
• Prayer is important. If not, Jesus would not have prayed. In the Gospels, we see Jesus go off on his own and pray. If prayer was not important, Jesus would not have done this.