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In Ecclesiastes it says over and over that "everything is meaningless," and I think God's been teaching me that for a long time. My relationship with him is the only thing that matters, the only thing with true meaning. I started learning that my freshman year, when I was really focused on fitting in. At first I tried to be something I wasn't, and it took half the year for me to realize it wasn't making me happy.

Another way God's shown me life is meaningless without him is through a mission trip I went on the summer before last. In the Dominican Republic I saw people who had nothing materially, yet they were so content. It made me think about how even though I have a lot, I still sometimes compare myself to people who have more and want what they have. It made me see that more stuff is not going to make me more happy.

What will satisfy me is not focusing on myself but giving myself for God's purposes. Like when I got back from the Dominican, I decided to sponsor one of the kids I met while I was down there. I find a lot of joy in that. And on a deeper level, I find joy just in knowing God. I still forget that sometimes. I'll get distracted and start focusing more on what other people have, or what I'm not good at, and I start pursuing those meaningless things again. That typically happens when I haven't spent much time in God's Word. I start feeling really discontent, but then God reminds me that he's all I need, and the other stuff doesn't matter.

One of the biggest ways God's been impacting my life is by showing me that he works through prayer. A few months ago, my prayers weren't much more than "Lord, thank you for this food." But God has used several things to change that. For one, I realized I was tired of not growing in my relationship with God. I'd look at other people around me, people in my youth group, and wonder why they were growing and I wasn't. Another thing was that God brought people into my life for me to witness to, and I wasn't very effective. Both of these things really encouraged me to pray more.

At first I tried to set aside time to pray at night before I went to bed, but that never worked because I'd fall asleep. Now I try to pray when I get home from school, when I'm more alert. I also meet with one of my friends once a week, and we pray for each other and for our friends. That's really encouraged me, especially when I see God answering my prayers—like my prayer for growth. Over the past few months, I've seen my heart change. God has pointed out areas of my life that I haven't wanted to give to him, and I don't want to ignore them anymore. As for witnessing, I've learned it's 100 percent dependent on prayer. I'm really bad at starting conversations about God, and it's amazing to see how he's answered my prayers for those kinds of opportunities.

God definitely accomplishes things through prayer. Like James 5:16 says, "The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective."

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