JNS2,
I left the jw's 13 years ago, and did'nt pray for about well 13 years.
See my wife had died, and then my son died also 18 months later. I was 22 and a very angry and bitter person. I began to believe that jw's were right " If you not in jw's you dont have a right to pray. " Especially if you were once a "believer" and strayed. So as a result I drifted, in every aspect of life.
A few months ago I decided I could no longer live this way. After much mental debate, I simply began praying the Lords Prayer. Mathew 6:9-15
See by doing this I was able to open the line of communication to God, using the prayer from this scripture as a guideline. As time went on I began to feel more free to express myself in prayer.
I admit there are still times when it is difficult to aproach prayer without thinking of all the jw rhetoric. That's when I pray for them, I pray that I'm able to forgive them just as I am forgiven. Why some may ask, the answer is simple. No matter how mislead they are, they are still Gods children also. No matter what the GB or org. has done they are entitled to the same hope as the rest of us. Granted they must first repent, and accept responsibility for their actions. But this will never happen without Devine intervention. So when I feel my anger creeping in, I pray. Don't get me wrong I detest what they have done to so many people and families in the name of their religion. But I refuse to let it consume me. If I allow it to consume me, then they are still a force in my life. A negative one, but still a force. I only want one force in my life and that is Gods.
But in order to feel that force you have to ask for it in prayer. Even though God can read our hearts motivation, we still need to afirm it before him to ourselves. So don't your temperary confusion cause you to lose your relationship with our Heaveny Father. He will help all those who seek refuge in him, key words SEEK HIM.
Hopefully this will help you through the trying times ahead.