Sometimes, particularly in prayer, we try to dress up what we really want, pretending we are more noble than we really are. There is no point pretending that God doesn’t know what you really want. God sees your heart and he knows what you really want: “Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.” (Psalm 38:9)
But what of those who know they desire things they shouldn’t? Some attempt to fight temptation as a matter of will, thinking that, through sheer determination, they will somehow change what they desire. These won’t be successful for more than a brief moment, as those who attempt to fight desire via willpower will still be plagued by desire to do what they know is wrong.
It is vain to pretend to seek what we do not actually desire:
And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. (Moroni 7:9)
This kind of desire will never produce anything of worth.
It is necessary to desire “with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent.” (2 Nephi 31:13) You need to be ruthlessly honest about what you really want and why.
Enumerate what it is you want. Be specific. Be clear. Write it down. Keep it. Refer back to it.
The more detail you provide, the more power your desire will have to motivate you.
As a flawed human being, you are sure to be less than perfect in your idea of what you want, your idea of how to obtain it, and your diligence and exactness in implementing those ideas. Only through honesty in execution can you learn the accuracy of the presumed path to what you want, notice the need for corrections, and summon the courage and stamina to make those corrections.
Without honesty in your desires, you’ll never be able to change your desires when change is needed. Improved desires come through reason, and reason can’t operate from false premises.
Integrity is required in order for us to obtain what we seek, and as long as we are dishonest about our desires, we cut ourselves off from both the fulfillment of those desires and any potential improvement to those desires.