Gerald N. Lund wrote:
Meaningful prayer is based on an understanding of our relationship with God. Consistent, fervent prayer is for our benefit; it is not how we change God’s mind, but how we change our hearts. Prayer is action. It is one of the “works” required if we are to develop faith.
I believe that it also means that effective meaningful prayer takes real effort on our part. We have to work at it to do it properly.
I have come to know from my own experience that the cure for shallow prayer is focus. Focus takes mental effort. It takes concentration. It takes a conscious act of will to stay focused on what we should be praying for, not just what we want to pray for. In other words, sometimes we may need to change our perception of prayer. Do we see prayer
- as an emergency exit, or a place of refuge?
- as a mail-order house, or as an antidote to the infections of life?
- as a way to let people know how righteous we are or as a confession of how far we fall short?
- as a desperate cry for deliverance, or a longing cry for forgiveness?
- as a plea for help for ourselves, or a plea to know who needs our help?
. . . . This is what we mean by focus. There are prayers of faith, prayers of thanks, prayers of submission, prayers of convenience, prayers of anger and frustration and bitterness, prayers of help, prayers of enlightenment and understanding, prayers for direction, prayers for promises, and prayers of duty. The focus of our prayers will directly influence what kind of prayers we offer and the blessings that come with them. ~Gerald N. Lund, A Year of Powerful Prayer, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 92-93
