Manner of Prayer

God has commanded us to pray to Him. Prayer is how we can communicate with Him and receive guidance. Jesus Christ said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened"(Matthew 7:7-8).

2 Nephi 32:9 in The Book of Mormon reads: "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."

So how are we to pray to God? What is the manner of prayer? Jesus Himself gives a great example in Matthew 6 during his Sermon on the Mount. He first tells us not to be hypocritical about it. We need to pray sincerely, not just for show. There are times for public prayer but there are also many more times for private prayer. 

Next He says: "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do..." Imagine you're a dad and every time you did calls you to talk to you on the phone, they repeat the same phrase to you and then hang up. What kind of conversation is that? Prayer is a conversation with God, not a recited grocery list of requested blessings. The only time we recite memorized pray is when we perform ordinances such as taking the sacrament (communion) or baptism. 

Jesus then proceeds to offer a beautiful prayer as an example. This prayer wasn't meant for us to memorize and repeat, but to learn from and incorporate its principles into our own personal prayers. From His example I will give the steps of prayer:

1. Address God, our Heavenly Father. "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." Jesus started by addressing OUR father. We don't pray to Jesus, we pray to Heavenly Father. Things we can say are "Dear Heavenly Father," "Dear God," "Our Father in Heaven,' etc.

2. Thank Him for blessings and acknowledge His hand in your life. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." God has given us so many blessings and He expects us to be grateful. They don't have to be huge blessings. I thank God for my home, family, friends, the gospel, my job or schooling, and big or small things that happen. 

3. Ask Him for blessings, forgiveness, help, etc. "Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptations, but deliver us from evil:" God is willing to help and bless us but first we need to ask. I have asked for healing either for myself or others, forgiveness of my sins, more patience with others, to pass an important test, to be safe while driving in a storm, to feel comforted on a sad day, to know if the Book of Mormon is true, and many more things. We can ask for anything as long as it's a righteous desire.

4. Close in the name of Jesus Christ. "Therefore ye must pray always unto the Father in my name"(3 Nephi 18:19). We do this by saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, amen," or something along those lines. We communicate with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. We say every prayer and perform every ordinance in Jesus Christ's name.

Praying can be weird or awkward at first, but as we continue to pray to God, we will feel His Spirit and He will bless us immensely. This quote explains very well the purpose of prayer:

"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. 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" (BD: Prayer).

Prayer is a commandment from God. He is our Father and He wants us to communicate with Him. He loves us and is willing to guide and bless if we seek Him in humble prayer. We are to pray to Him always. Pray to him in the morning when you wake up; at every meal; before, during, and after you study the scriptures; at night before you go to sleep; when you are lonely or scared or sad; when you need help. He will listen to and answer every single prayer.

"Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
"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"(Alma 37:36-37).

Amen.