What Should I Pray For?

I think Alma's prayer is extremely instructive as he left on his mission trip:

26 And he lifted up his voice to heaven, and cried, saying: O, how long, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that thy servants shall dwell here below in the flesh, to behold such gross wickedness among the children of men?
27 Behold, O God, they cry unto thee, and yet their hearts are swallowed up in their pride. Behold, O God, they cry unto thee with their mouths, while they are puffed up, even to greatness, with the vain things of the world.
28 Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious things which they are ornamented with; and behold, their hearts are set upon them, and yet they cry unto thee and say—We thank thee, O God, for we are a chosen people unto thee, while others shall perish.
29 Yea, and they say that thou hast made it known unto them that there shall be no Christ.
30 O Lord God, how long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and infidelity shall be among this people? O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain my soul.
31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.
32 O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are with me—yea, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, and also my two sons—yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ.
33 Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people.
34 O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ.
35 Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee (Alma 31).

I find it interesting to note what Alma does and does not pray for. Here are some things Alma does pray for:

• strength to bear his infirmities 
• comfort to his pained soul
• strength to suffer with patience the afflictions to come
• success in the work of reclaiming souls (that God's work might be successful among the people)
• the success of his fellow missionaries 
• strength for his fellow missionaries to bear the afflictions to come
• that they might enjoy success in bringing the Zoramites again to Christ
• power and wisdom to bring the Zoramites back to Christ

Some things that Alma does not pray for are:

• that his afflictions will be taken away
• that he can be removed or excused from his difficult duties
• that the Lord would do the work for him
• that the Zoramites would come back to Christ on their own

I love this model prayer that Alma offered to the Lord. These are perhaps blessings that the Lord is always willing to grant. I can pray any time for strength to bear infirmities, strength to do God's will, and success in seeing God's work done in my sphere of influence, wherever and however that might be.

The record indicates that God heard and answered the prayer:

38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith.

Pray for comfort, strength, and success.