I just went to a Lent program last night where the presenter (a Catholic nun) showed us a video of Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now). The thesis of her program was that prayer is recognition of Divinity that arises between thoughts. If you ARE new to prayer and thought of HP, seeking for that space will allow you to pray without judging even your HP.
So I agree that meditation is a GREAT place to start. Read Thich Nhat' Hanh's Miracle of Mindfulness, or any other book that will guide you into a meditative state. CDs are often a great place to start.
If you want to go right to Scripture-based prayer, I LOVE the daily podcasts from pray-as-you-go.org. They're 20 minute daily meditations that start with music, then a scripture reading, then a guided meditation on that reading.
@jamaicamecrazy, I know what you're saying about the Prayer of St. Francis, but it's still one of my favorite prayers. When I pray it, I don't meditate on just my AH, I think about all the people I come in contact with and pray to be able to give and love freely to them with no strings or baggage--which is a pure love. The problem with codies is a lot of times we are loving with baggage.