Secret Sauce of Effectual Prayer

A brother in Elder's Quorum meeting lamented that he doesn't know how to pray very well because so many of his prayers go unanswered. He felt that he was missing the secret sauce of successful prayer, that he was somehow missing an element of faith or obedience that would unlock the mystery of communicating effectively with God. I think perhaps the members of Christ's ancient church in Rome may have had similar feelings, for Paul wrote to them with the following counsel:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
--Romans 8:26

The Holy Ghost teaches us what we should pray for. The Lord, after all, knows what we need before we ask. The purpose of prayer is not to make God align with us but to align us with Him. So, seeking instruction from the Holy Spirit about our prayers only makes sense.

If there is secret sauce to effectual prayer, it is this principle of revelation through the Holy Ghost. Getting answers from God is not like learning to be the wizard's apprentice. The wizard's apprentice could never get the magic spells to work right because he inevitably failed to follow the wizard's instructions to the letter. The apprentice always left out some obscure, seemingly insignificant step, and then the spell would go all wrong. 

While we may be apprentices in the practice of prayer, Heavenly Father is not a cross and vengeful wizard. He is our loving Father. Getting answers is not about doing everything just right or asking just the right question in just the right way. God is not tricky. He is not hard to find and follow. He doesn't smirk or grimace when we fumble. He hears even the most rudimentary and inarticulate prayers.

He does not wait for us to stumble onto the magic incantation of the perfect prayer formula. He simply wants us to reach out to Him, no matter how imperfect our prayer, our approach, and our lives may be. 

If we want the secret sauce of prayer, we should seek to know God's will -- what He wants for us and His timing. If we learn to pray for what He wants when He wants it, our prayers will be answered every time.