Confused

Faith.  I understand faith to be a principal of action but there is a part of faith I don't understand.  How do you have faith in something when the only action available is prayer?  Don't get me wrong, I think prayer and faith go hand in hand but is it enough?  It seems like if you pray in faith, then you should be willing to do whatever action comes from that.  What if everything you think to try leads to an end that is no different than the beginning? Does it mean you don't have sufficient faith because your actions didn't have a result.  Is it enough to be willing to try and show that to the Lord, even if it leads back to the beginning when the only action left is prayer?

I really am trying to make sense of this, but I can't find an answer that feels "right."  I have been reading Lectures on Faith, but I haven't found the answers I am looking for.  Maybe it is enough to pray and be willing to do what the Lord asks you to do, but it somehow doesn't like it.  I want to be able to tell my Heavenly Father I have done all I can, but how can I if I don't know what more I can do?