Prayer

[JudoMinja]

Prayer has been an area of constant struggle for me, and I feel certain that it has been the same for others. It is so easy to get caught up in life and simply forget to pray. Even when we remember, it is easy to put it off or rush through it without giving it any real thought. I have always been impressed with those who give wonderfully thoughtful prayers and actually converse with the Lord as a friend and confidante. I admire them their ability to so faithfully keep their prayers and treat it as a necessary part of their lives, and I wonder how can I build in myself this same strength in prayer?

The Lord has counseled that we should do nothing, save we first confer with him in prayer. He loves us and wants to guide us in the direction that will bring us happiness and fulfill our great potential. Much of his counsel and advice, however, will not be given if we do not ask for it. We must actively seek him out, and he will pour his blessings upon us.

Prayer is a way for us to confirm the direction we are already taking. The Lord wants us to take the time to study and learn and reach decisions for ourselves, then take that decision up with him in prayer to confirm whether or not it is right. This is very important when we are making big decisions for our lives, like where to go to school, where to work, who we choose to marry. We can make a most educated and informed decision and feel that following through with our choice will be of great benefit to ourselves. No matter how educated and informed our decision though, we do not see and understand everything. The Lord does. This is why we must counsel with him in prayer. He can confirm the decision we have already made, or guide us in another direction that will bring us greater lessons and benefits.

Because the Lord loves us, he also simply wants to hear from us. He wants to know how we are doing, what is on our minds, our thoughts feelings and outlook on our present state in life. He cares and wishes to listen to our concerns. He wants to offer comfort in times of need, praise for our accomplishments, and be a listening ear as we strive to figure things out. He wants us to come to him, even when we have no immediate needs or big decisions, just to talk, because he loves us.

Any endeavor we pursue, when it is opened with a prayer, He will bless it. Recognizing that he is there, listening and concerned, we must pray to receive His blessings. Then, when our goals have been accomplished, we should offer thanks for His help and support. We feel better about ourselves and more motivated to be helpful when we receive thanks for our service, and God works the same way. When we humble ourselves, recognize His hand in our lives, and exercise gratitude, he will pour even greater blessings upon our heads, because he loves us.

Prayer provides a wonderful defense against the adversary. Satan teaches us not to pray. Through all his lies, cunning, and deceit, he seeks to convince us that prayer is unnecessary and unimportant. This, in and of itself, should flare up as a warning. If Satan wishes us to believe prayer to be unnecessary and unimportant, then it must be so very necessary and important.

The first step a cunning adversary will take to ensnare their prey, is to cut off communications. Unable to call for help, the victim is in a bind, and can now more easily be overcome. Prayer is our lifeline. Prayer is our call for help. When we keep an open communication with the Lord, he can warn us of the direction and intent of our enemy, and he can guide us through safer paths.

In a troubled heart, struggling to find faith and a willingness to continue forward in righteousness, prayer is always the first thing to go. Some, perhaps, may find this makes it easier to continue on the path they choose, stepping away from the guidance of the Lord, because they do not feel so overburdened with guilt. But the guilt will always hunt you down. Better for you, it would be, to remain in his counsel and not stray from his path.

Others, already entrenched in sin, may feel they are unworthy and too terrible to pray. This is not so. No matter where you are in life, no matter what you have done, the Lord wants to hear your prayers. Do not lie or try to cover up your sins. Be truthful and open. If you are unwilling or not ready to take up his standard and follow the path of repentance, tell him. Tell him how you feel, what you are thinking, and ask him to plant a desire to repent in you heart. Prayer was not made for the perfect. It is there to give help and guidance to the sinful, to help bring them to repentance.

Think of the Lord as a trusted advisor, and prayer is your way to seek his advice. Tell him of your desires and plans, what you are doing to fulfill those desires and accomplish those plans, and your thoughts on your progress. Tell him of those who have helped you and those you have helped. Tell him of the trials facing you and your loved ones and ask for his help in overcoming them. Tell him of your accomplishments and thank and praise him for his aid, guidance, help, and blessings.

Just as with an advisor here on earth, those counseling sessions are not for his benefit. Do not let yourselves be fooled into thinking that because he already knows everything about your life there is no need to pray. Prayer helps us. Prayer is a way of organizing our thoughts in such a manner that we can continue to improve, progressing and moving forward.

Not everyone will pray in precisely the same way, and we are not required to. The Lord has given us an outline to follow- We must first open our prayer by addressing him. We then offer thanks for those things we are thankful for, both temporal and spiritual. We then ask for blessings, guidance, and direction for things both temporal and spiritual. We ask for forgiveness for those things we have repented of and offer forgiveness for others. We pray to be kept from the bonds of temptation, that our hearts may be purified as we work toward perfection. Finally, we end in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. As long as our prayers are within the bounds of this outline and we speak respectfully with the Lord, it does not matter how we choose to pray or what to pray for.

Prayer is the most important piece in our spiritual growth. It is our personal connection with the Lord through which we can receive very specific revelations to guide our lives. A soul that is open in prayer unto the Lord will be blessed with a constant flow of his counsel.

We must form a strong habit of frequent prayer. When we designate specific times for prayer and commit ourselves to keeping that obligation we will find it easier to pray. The Lord wants us to pray when we rise, over our meals, before our travels, individually and as a family, and before we lay down to rest for the night. Praying at these times will help us form the habit and keep it.

I hope to apply this to my own life, to commit myself to making prayer an active part of my day. You do not need to possess the greatest communication skills or offer elaborate prayers. Prayer is not just for the affluent; it is for everyone. Speak from the heart, and the rest will take care of itself.

[Justice]

Very good post.

The only comment I'd like to make is on this one brief staement:

...we must pray to receive His blessings.

I think statements like these are made when we are enganged in study and thought and have a certain train of thought where it has application.

But, looking at it by itself, I think you might disagree. :)

I think a better way to word it might be "if we want to receive a blessing from the Lord we must live the pirnciple associated to that blessing." This does not mean that He cannot choose to bless us without prayer or without our obedience. It means this is the ordained method we have been given to activate the powers of heaven.

I think this is what causes many people to stumble (myself included). The Lord blesses us so richly and fully, even if we are not living or praying as we should, that we often forget Him. Hardship is perhaps the best way the Lord has to help us remember Him. So many times we then forget Him when those blessings start flowing... more blessings than we deserve.

[Traveler]

Very good post.

The only comment I'd like to make is on this one brief staement:

I think statements like these are made when we are enganged in study and thought and have a certain train of thought where it has application.

But, looking at it by itself, I think you might disagree. :)

I think a better way to word it might be "if we want to receive a blessing from the Lord we must live the pirnciple associated to that blessing." This does not mean that He cannot choose to bless us without prayer or without our obedience. It means this is the ordained method we have been given to activate the powers of heaven.

I think this is what causes many people to stumble (myself included). The Lord blesses us so richly and fully, even if we are not living or praying as we should, that we often forget Him. Hardship is perhaps the best way the Lord has to help us remember Him. So many times we then forget Him when those blessings start flowing... more blessings than we deserve.

I agree with JudoNinay - Quoting from the Bible Dictionary:

"Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings. "

I have highlighted something I believe is most important to be understood.

The Traveler

[Hemidakota]

Perceptible thought here, in the beginning we ask with faith that it would be answered. As if we are talking in the deep recesses of our intelligence (Id) to unseen GOD. Later in life, when we finally receive our final act regarding our past, present, and future, our prayers become one of deep gratitude and one-on-one conversion throughout the day. We simply change over the years were we now know ‘the surety’ that GOD and the Savior do live and listen to our prayers. Our prayers become more meaningful and sincere, even at the smallest given prayers to opening a Sacrament. We simply will change.

I was in a meeting with well known author and general authority, when he mentioned casually, he felt bad as both wife and him while in a local large retailer grocery store, he failed with his continuous of direct communication (prayers) for a whole hour with the Godhead. Looking at the Savior upon the cross, was the eye opener when He asked GOD, why did He forsake Him or turned away for a small (wow, as I am writing this, I feel the Holy Ghost) moment. The conversion of a prayer is more a open dialog between the parent and a grown child (adult). This is the goal we need to obtain in this mortality.

Edited December 22, 2009 by Hemidakota

[Justice]

Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.

It almost sounds as if you're saying I disagree with this.

I agree that this is the ordained method by which man can obtain blessings. I believe I even said something very similar to that in my post.

The point I'm trying to make is that when man desires a blessing there is a prescribed method, but it is not the only means by which God grants blessings... meaning in answer to direct prayer or obedience. There are many different ways one receives blessings from the Lord. This quote (and the common scripture we all know) is describing the method by which a man may receive desired blessings for himself or his family. I think it is a reach to interpret this as the only way God will bless someone.

It may sound like I'm mincing words, but if you ponder about this you will see that God can grant un-petitioned blessings, and there are many, many examples of Him doing so in scripture.

It is not a rule or law that God can only grant a blessing as an answer to a prayer.

It is only a rule or law that a man must use the prescribed method if he wished to receive a blessing from God.

I hope you can see the difference in those statements.

[JudoMinja]

All the comments on this so far are great.

Justice- you are right that prayer is not the only way we can receive blessings. We receive many blessings in our lives without ever praying for them, and we need only to open our eyes to recognize them.

Traveler- I like your clarification on how prayer does not change the will of God but opens a doorway, so that we can receive the blessings he is already willing to impart should we simply ask for them. "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you."

Hemidakota- I like your description of how prayer is an area in which we will grow. Just as any spiritual matter requires practice, so does prayer. The more we pray, and the more we put effort into it, the better we will get at it, and the more it will become a conversation with our FATHER in heaven.

[Hemidakota]

Time is experience and experience is growth of an eternal soul. Prayer along with faith and hope are the essential tools for the beginning journey of that experience.

[Traveler]

It almost sounds as if you're saying I disagree with this.

I agree that this is the ordained method by which man can obtain blessings. I believe I even said something very similar to that in my post.

The point I'm trying to make is that when man desires a blessing there is a prescribed method, but it is not the only means by which God grants blessings... meaning in answer to direct prayer or obedience. There are many different ways one receives blessings from the Lord. This quote (and the common scripture we all know) is describing the method by which a man may receive desired blessings for himself or his family. I think it is a reach to interpret this as the only way God will bless someone.

It may sound like I'm mincing words, but if you ponder about this you will see that God can grant un-petitioned blessings, and there are many, many examples of Him doing so in scripture.

It is not a rule or law that God can only grant a blessing as an answer to a prayer.

It is only a rule or law that a man must use the prescribed method if he wished to receive a blessing from God.

I hope you can see the difference in those statements.

Justice: I have always enjoyed your posts - I do not think I would characterize our exchanges as “disagreements”. Forgive me for sounding adverse but I like to take your posts and “add” a little something to them. Not to change what you have said but in hopes to increase dimension or depth.

I like to use good solid foundations to explorer more of the spectrum of ideas. I realize that there are sometimes feelings of being attacked. I hope you do not think that of me. Often I have posted that if we only have exchanges with those with who we are in “agreement” we will not learn anything. I believe it was Abraham Lincoln or perhaps Benjamin Franklin that said something like – if we are not careful we will learn more useful things from our enemies than our friends.

As a young buck I tried many things. I thought much of myself and my abilities and had an opportunity to try out for the US ski team. I had a coach that would ski to the side of the course and yell my every mistake at me and if he did not think I was paying enough attention he would knock me down. Never did he ever tell me when I did something right. I hated him until I realized that I was much better and faster whenever I thought he was even just watching me. We all like praise but sometimes to improve we need criticism. The scriptures tell us that the L-rd will chasten those he loves.

With all that said – I am not like my ski coach, but there are some on this forum that are and even they can be a blessing and even an answer to a prayer.

The Traveler

[Traveler]

Time is experience and experience is growth of an eternal soul. Prayer along with faith and hope are the essential tools for the beginning journey of that experience.

I saw this and it reminded me of a quote but I do not recall from where but it was something like - We get wisdom from experience and we get experience from being stupid.

The Traveler