Prayer

One of my favorite quotes about prayer comes from the Bible Dictionary, "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship." So we may ask, "What is prayer? How do we pray? Is it necessary?" The Bible Dictionary again tells us, "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 boject of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure fro ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional upon our asking for them." Alma 37: 37 tells us, "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." That leads us to how we should pray. We, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, know that we should pray with all of our hearts unto the Father in the name of Christ, and so we open by addressing our Heavenly Father, then express the feelings of our hearts (expressing gratitude for our blessings, asking for blessings, asking specific questions--such as is the Book of Mormon true?), we then close by saying, "in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." It is very simple and can produce great results. The greatest example of prayer we have is Jesus Christ. All throughout the New Testament and Book of Mormon we see and read about times when Jesus Christ prayed unto the Father. He is our example in everything. Prayer works. I know it does. Without prayer we wouldn't be able to get anywhere in this life. It is our most powerful tool to help us conquer Satan. I love the opprotunity we have to be able to talk with our Heavenly Father. It is only by His love and through is Son Jesus Christ that we can come to live with him again. I love you all!