"Prayer is not a negotiation process. It is an alignment process."

When I was younger, I really struggled with the habit of praying regularly. Now that I have gotten older, I am in a better habit of praying, but now the struggle is focusing and saying meaningful prayers. I have really noticed the past couple of weeks how bad I have gotten and the true need to fix it. So my study today, and will be for a while, is how to make them more meaningful. It is fantastic and amazing how much material there is to help us have better communion with Heavenly Father.

The first thing that I found was an idea list from the Jan 2001 New Era. It had great ideas from youth as to how to make prayer more meaningful. The one that I loved said in order to maintain focus it is best to ponder your day and what you will pray about beforehand. For me, it is really easy to just get in a habit of saying the things that I am grateful for and things that I want to see happen over and over again. I truly am grateful for those things and I strongly want those blessings, but at the same time, I have said them so much in the same way, that it is no longer meaningful and I say them without thinking. It is better to take the time to think about what I want to say, then pray. It's ok I repeat gratitude or desired blessings, but I need to say it the fifth time with the same attitude I had when I said it the first time. If I don't, then it becomes a vain repetition. 

There was also a scripture mentioned that stood out to me. It is Matthew 6:8. It is during the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, when He is talking about the importance of prayer and how to pray. What stands out specifically in this verse is the phrase "your Father knoweth what things you have need of, before ye ask them." At first it is easy to ask, if he already knows, then why do I ask? When we ask, we acknowledge that all things come through Him, and we can't do it without Him. In an article in the June 2013 Ensign Elder Pearson stated that "Prayer is not a negotiation process. It is an alignment process." Coming humbly, with sincere heart to Heavenly Father, acknowledging His hand in all things, asking for His divine strength and help is what will truly bring blessings. It would be nice if He just gave us the blessings that we need, and sometimes He does. However, if that were to happen all of the time, we wouldn't be able to experience the growth and humility that is needed and comes when we plead for His help. We would forget about Him and think that all of our numerous blessings came from ourselves, rather than give credit to who truly gave it. We would then feel as though we had no reason to pray. How sad would that be? We would be as small children. Unable to do anything for ourselves, taking all from our parents, who give us all, and giving nothing in return. Hence, the reason why we pray. 

I know without a doubt that our Heavenly Father wants to hear from us. He loves to hear from us. Just as our parents love the call home while we are gone. Just as our friends love to catch up during a separation, He wants us to tell Him what is going on in our lives. He wants us to express our gratitude, so that we are humble and know that we can go through this life with Him. He wants us to sincerely ask Him for blessings. As I have learned of these things, I feel a strong and sincere desire to make my prayers better. To have a true conversation with Him. I don't like it when my friends go through the motions and have a superficial conversation with me. I don't want to do that with Him any longer. I will ponder what I want to say to Him before I pray, so that I can stay focused better. It will be a struggle at first. But I know that as I continue the habit, I know that it will become easier and that my relationship with my Heavenly Father will be so much better because of it.