My personal belief is that prayer works if you believe it works. I also believe you should only pray for people if they request it or are otherwise OK with it.
I left the Episcopal Church when I was 13 because in my opinion God was nowhere to be found. I thought--perhaps selfishly--that with all these prayers and hymns sung in His/Her/Its name, that the least He/She/It could do was say, "Hey, thanks" once in a while.
When I think I'm talking with Jesus, I don't know what's happening neurologically. Am I simply communcating with a different part of my consciousness? Or am I actually speaking to the consciousness/spirit of a person who supposedly lived on Earth 2000 years ago and asked us all to love each other? I don't know. All I do know is, it helps me. And if it helps other folks, then great--whatever works.
That, and Miles Davis playing "In A Silent Way." Glorious.