I've had a goal for quite a few years to be more intentional with my prayers. I've always found prayer to be something immensely personal and it has always been an opportunity for me to cultivate a stronger relationship with my Savior and my Father in Heaven.
I can recall vividly a few prayers in my life. The rest, I know have helped build my faith and have helped to strengthen my relationships, but I couldn't tell you for sure what the trending themes of my prayers are. That may seem like an odd thing to look for when you pray: trends, but I'd like to tell you why it is important and what I've done as a result.
We know that we can find answers by praying fervently, listening for moments of inspiration or revelation, and searching the scriptures. How often do we do all of those things though? I can be completely honest in answering this question. I almost never do everything. In an effort to be more productive and accountable for the things that I am praying for, I've opted to create a little journal for myself.
In this journal, I record a summary of the things that I am praying for, or the things I need help with; typically the things from the supplication focus of my prayers.* Once I have listed these out post prayer, I flip to the back of my journal where I keep a running list of topics and themes that I pray for. If I already have it on my list, I add a tally. At the end of a particular period (could be a week, 10 days, 1 month, 2 months, etc.) I look at the list to see what the most prayed for topics were and that is how I choose what topics I should add to my study plans.
I also record my feelings and impressions, any scriptures that come to mind as I pray or immediately after. I also record anything that seems to answer my questions after I pray. I find that this helps me to identify the topics that are pertinent to me in the moment. If I find that I am struggling with anxiety, or needing to remember the purposes of motherhood, finding peace after a tragedy, etc., I add those topics to my scripture study. I can then focus on feed my soul exactly what it needs in those moments. I'll link another post for how I add these to my scripture study in the near future.
As I mentioned, intentionality is something that I have focused on for a few years now, and this is just one of the ways that I can tailor my prayers and my study to meet my needs and the needs of my family. If you are interested in the journal that I have created for this purpose, you can find it here. It is a simple way to track for up to 60 days and allows you to take the challenge of being more intentional with your study based on your prayers.
*I like to try various methods of prayer as I come across them. The ACTS method happens to be the one that I personally like as a reminder the most. This reminds me to always include Adoration (Love and recognition for God and His Son), Confession (Acknowledgement and Repentance for my shortcomings as well as my commitment to do better), Thanksgiving (Gratitude for all that has been done on my behalf, the wisdom that has been imparted to me, and the blessings to come), and Supplication (Sincere requests for the things that I feel I am lacking, or in need of, as well as requests to meet the needs of others in the world). I'll write a whole other post to talk about my prayer methods.