Contributed by: Ann
Scriptures
Alma 37:37
37
Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou
liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and
when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do
these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
D&C 101:7-8
7
They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their
God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.
8 In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel;
but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.
Alma 34:21
21 Cry
unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
2 Ne. 32:9
9 But
behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform
any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name
of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be
for the welfare of thy soul.
D&C 88:126
126 Pray
always, that ye may not faint, until I come. Behold, and lo, I will come quickly, and
receive you unto myself. Amen.
Alma 34:27
27 Yea,
and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto
him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.
Alma 34:26
26 But
this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and
in your wilderness.
3 Ne. 13:5-6
5
And when thou prayest thou shalt not do as the hypocrites, for they love to pray, standing
in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily
I say unto you, they have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in
secret, shall reward thee openly.
D&C 112:10
10
Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to
thy prayers.
Alma 34:17-18
17
Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith
unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon
you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
Mark 11:25
25 And
when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which
is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Alma 34:28
28 And now
behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye
have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the
sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need--
I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and
availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.
D&C 88:63
63 Draw
near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask,
and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
D&C 88:83
83 He that
seeketh me early shall find me, and shall not be forsaken.
Stories
Story 1
Tell the following story as an example of how a young woman counseled with
the Lord:
"As a young girl I saw many sad things happen around me
because of alcohol. Our family didn’t belong to the Church. In fact, I had never
heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When I was twelve years old, I
started praying each night that Heavenly Father would help me find someone I could marry
who would not have a drinking problem.
"Years later, after I finished nursing school, I got my
first job working in a small hospital in a remote town. A few weeks later, a young doctor
came to work at the same hospital. From the beginning there was something different about
him. One of the other nurses suggested that this doctor was not one to get interested in
because he was a Mormon! I asked, ‘What is a Mormon?’ She told me they were a
strange religious group who did not use coffee, tea, alcohol, or tobacco. We finished our
coffee and went back to work. That was the last cup of coffee I ever drank. I could hardly
wait to find out more about the Mormons. The gospel message was what I had been looking
for all my life. Within a month I was baptized, and later the young doctor and I were
married. My prayers had truly been answered, and life had new meaning."
Story 2
A
true story told by Barbara Perry Haws, daughter of Elder L. Tom Perry:
"One day I received a long-distance call from my brother. I
could tell something was wrong because his voice was serious and my brother is rarely
serious. He told me that our mother had just suffered a stroke and was in the hospital.
The fear I felt was heightened because I was a long way from home. The only thing I could
do was pray. After I prayed, I felt such a warmth go through me that I knew everything
would be all right. But a few minutes later I received another call. It was my dad; my mom
had passed away. At first I could not believe it because the feeling that all was well was
so definite. I later realized that everything was as it should be; my mother had lived
rather comfortably with cancer for almost four years—long enough to see my father be
called to the Council of the Twelve. But that fourth year the cancer was beginning to
cause a lot of trouble. She died calmly thirty minutes after the stroke hit. She had lived
a full, beautiful life. When I prayed for her I did not know about the expectation of her
death or the trouble she was having. So my prayer was definitely answered and everything
was all right."
Quotations
Quote 1
President
Ezra Taft Benson has suggested some ways to improve our communication with our Heavenly
Father:
"1. We should pray frequently. We should be alone with our
Heavenly Father at least two or three times each day: ‘… morning, mid-day, and
evening,’ as the scripture indicates. (Alma 34:21.) In addition, we are told
to pray always. (2 Nephi 32:9; D&C 88:126.) This means that our
hearts should be full, drawn out in prayer unto our Heavenly Father continually. (Alma 34:27.)
"2. We should find an appropriate place where we can
meditate and pray. We are admonished that this should be ‘in your closets, and your
secret places, and in your wilderness.’ (Alma 34:26.) That is, it should be free
from distraction, in secret. (3 Nephi
13:5-6.)
"3. We should prepare ourselves for prayer. If we don’t
feel like praying, then we should pray until we do feel like praying. We should be humble.
(D&C 112:10.) We should pray for
forgiveness and mercy. (Alma 34:17-18.)
We must forgive anyone against whom we have bad feelings. (Mark 11:25.) Yet, the scriptures warn,
our prayers will be vain if we ‘turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the
sick and afflicted, and impart [not] of [our] substance. …’ (Alma 34:28.)
"4. Our prayers should be meaningful and pertinent. We
should not use the same phrases at each prayer. Each of us would become disturbed if a
friend said the same few words to us each day, treated the conversation as a chore, and
could hardly wait to finish in order to turn on the TV and forget us" (Ezra Taft
Benson, "Improving Communication with Our Heavenly Father," in Prayer [Salt Lake
City: Deseret Book Co., 1977], p. 111).
Quote 2
President
Spencer W. Kimball instructed us on what we should pray about:
"We should express joyful and sincere gratitude for past
blessings. The Lord has said, ‘And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for
whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with.’ (D&C 46:32.) A wonderful and assuring
spirit comes over us as we express sincere gratitude to Heavenly Father for our
blessings—for the gospel and the knowledge of it that we have been blessed to
receive, for the efforts and labors of parents and others in our behalf, for our families
and friends, for opportunities, for mind and body and life, for experiences good and
helpful throughout our lives, for all of our Father’s helps and kindnesses and
answered prayers.
"We can pray for our leaders. …
"The all-encompassing missionary work should be the constant
object of our prayers. We pray that the doors of nations will be opened to receive the
gospel. We pray for opportunity and guidance to share the glorious gospel news with
others. …
"We pray for the frustrated, the disturbed, the sick, those
in need, the sinful. We pray for that person we felt was an enemy. … Can anyone long
have an enemy when he prays for persons around him about whom he may have hard feelings?
"We pray for wisdom, for judgment, for understanding. We
pray for protection in dangerous places, for strength in moments of temptation. We
remember loved ones and friends. We utter momentary prayers in word or thought, aloud or
in deepest silence. We always have a prayer in our hearts that we may do well in the
activities of our day. Can one do evil when honest prayers are in his heart and on his
lips?
"We pray over our [families], our neighbors, our jobs, our
decisions, our church assignments, our testimonies, our feelings, our goals. …
"But is prayer only one-way communication? No! … At the
end of our prayers, we need to do some intense listening—even for several minutes. We
have prayed for counsel and help. Now we must ‘be still, and know that [he is]
God.’ (Ps. 46:10.)" ("Pray Always," Ensign, Oct. 1981, pp. 4-5).
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