Yes, you're correct that we must also pray for God's mercy which is what we want and need. I would also say this is the will of the Father for us to repent wouldn't you? So praying for His mercy is understanding and praying for what God wants.
We KNOW what God wants. The Church teaches us that in multiple ways.
I don't wish to sound like I'm trying to slip through on a technicality. I started off somewhere back by saying that prayer is a very complicated issue that is difficult to discuss on a forum like this. And I certainly wouldn't be honest if I said I have it all figured out. There are few Christians that do. It is, after all, communication with God and that, in itself, is difficult. (Look how hard it is for us to communicate with our wives and you'll get the picture.)
There are a number of things we should pray for and some things we are not to pray for. Some of the articles I have read on prayer gives very detail laundry lists of prayer. There are different purposes of prayer, and times to pray, and methods of prayer. As soon as we start talking about one facet of prayer, another facet raises it head. We'll be all over the place on this subject.
“There are different purposes of prayer, and times to pray, and methods of prayer. As soon as we start talking about one facet of prayer, another facet raises it head. We’ll be all over the place on this subject.”
You’re right, HD! :) I just pulled out my wife’s Orthodox Prayer Book...prayers for all sorts of situations.