Kevin -

I pray for forgiveness, for the health and well-being of my loved ones and of the church and the world, and for the strength to keep trying. And of course to give thanks for the blessings of this life and for God's grace at work in the world.

Several times a week, I also do about 10 min. of meditation, using Micah 6:8 as the basis for my mantra  - do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God.

As to your friend who prays for a parking place - IMHO such prayers tend to trivialize the whole thing. Maybe I'm over-reacting to all the "pray for $$/pray and send $$" hucksters that I see on late-night TV, but isn't the central message of the Gospels that we should love and serve one another??

My $0.02 - please adjust for your local currency.

Shalom.
Merrill

I think prayer is a continuous state of awareness that God is at hand, concerned about my daily living, and communication is open and ongoing about whatever I'm thinking about at the moment.

Yes there are times when I consciously pray for something or someone, but mostly it's recognition that God is there with me and I can talk to him just like I would anyone else, most especially a best friend.