Belief is not a simple mental procedure for anyone, and certainly not for the genuinely religious individual.
A certain tzadik (righteous person) used to say that the opening words of the Thirteen Articles of Faith, "I believe with complete faith," are not a declaration but a prayer, the prayer for the attainment of complete faith.
If a person can really shake off the mountains of dust of accumulated opinions and actions, and truly examine himself inwardly, he will find there the spark of faith that was never really extinguished.
Among those who say they have never prayed at all in their lives, there are not a few who regularly speak words of prayer at all sorts of occasions, not necessarily in the synagogue or at the set times for prayer.
There is prayer of thanksgiving for the good and the beautiful.
And prayer of supplication in an hour of distress and great need.
There are those who pronounce the words of prayer with their lips.
And those who think them in their hearts.
Only very few people can do without prayer at all.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From "Modern Man and His Prayer" in The Strife of the Spirit by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz