When Prayers Become All "Asks" And No Action

I've not yet read this book, but the title
(and some of its reviews) intrigue me.

“You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.”  

—Pope Francis

How many of our prayers are mostly of the "Gimme" type or are some version of "Bless-me-and-my-wife-and-my-son-John-and-his-wife-us-four-and-no-more?"

Probably too many, if truth be told. 

I've been convicted lately of the need to have more of my prayers reshaped into the following:

1. A time of attentive listening. How might I/we hear and respond to our Creator's wishes for "God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?" Maybe we should think of praying being more like standing at attention and reporting for duty.

2. A heartfelt pledge of allegiance. How might the so-called "Lord's Prayer" or a personalized version of Romans 12:1-2 become like a daily renewal of our baptismal induction as members of God's special forces?

3. A time of connecting with our nearby and world neighbors. What if we experienced prayer as a way of seeing all of our fellow humans through the lens of our just and compassionate Creator? Whenever we pray at a meal, for example, we could picture ourselves being around one common, worldwide table.

4. A time of creating an action plan for collaborating with God's "answers" to our requests. Our prayer lists could become a part of our daily action plans for becoming God's heart, hands and feet in making prayers come true--through our letters, phone calls, visits, acts of kindness, deeds of charity, etc. 

5. A time for inner refueling and recharging. How might some of the empowering words of scripture become the focus and content of more of our prayers? For example, this prayer from Ephesians 1:18-21 (emphases mine): 

"I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength. God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future."     (Common English Version)