Prayer should not centre just on asking God to fulfill one's hopes and desires, but must include praise, thanks and trust in God's plan which may not match one's own, Pope Benedict said.

The way Jesus prayed to his Father "teaches us that in our own prayers, we must always trust in the Father's will and strive to see all things in light of his mysterious plan of love," he said during his weekly general audience Dec. 14.

Prayer is a dialogue with God and entails "abandoning oneself to God's love," the pope said.

The most important thing to discover, he said, is that the one who answers humanity's prayers is more important than the actual prayers answered.