BLS at The Topmost Apple points us to this, from a piece in the Times of London, about an upcoming new Reform Jewish prayer book:
… While the English word “pray” comes from the Latin precare, meaning to address, to implore – talking to someone, God – the Hebrew word for prayer comes from a term meaning “to judge oneself”.
So rather than just looking outwards, Jewish payer is also focused inwards, and prayer is a matter of self-examination; not only asking God for this or that, but checking up on ourselves in God’s presence, whether we are behaving properly and heading in the right direction.
It is an important distinction, because it means there is much less expectation of God answering our prayers, and appearing to fail if expectations are not realised. Instead we are asking ourselves to live up to ethical values, and it is then we who succeed or fail, depending on how committed or strong-willed we are.