God is your loving Father in heaven and wants to hear from you. You can reach out to Him through prayer. As His child, you can ask your Heavenly Father for help and guidance in your life.
The power of prayer
Four steps to prayer
God is your Heavenly Father and wants to hear from you. You can approach Him through prayer. As His child, you can ask your Heavenly Father for His help and guidance in your life.
Prayer can be done out loud or in your mind. You can talk to God just like you do with other people. Your words don’t have to be eloquent or memorized. It’s more important that you open your heart. Have faith that He is there for you and that He hears you, because He is. Have faith that He will help you, because He will.
Prayer is one of the most valuable gifts we have received from a loving Heavenly Father.
1
Start your prayer
Before you begin, find a quiet place where you feel comfortable. A good way to begin is to address God by name. You can say, “Dear God,” or “Dear Heavenly Father,” “Our Father in Heaven,” or simply “God.”
2
Talk to God
Speak from your heart and share your hopes and desires as well as your concerns and problems. You can ask for His help, direction, forgiveness, or healing. Whatever is on your mind, bring it to Him. Recognize that His wisdom and timing are greater than yours. You can ask Him what He wants for you.
Share with God your feelings about other people. You can ask for their needs or ask Him how you can help and love them.
Thank God for all the blessings in your life. Even challenges can be a blessing. They help us to be humble and keep our hearts and minds more open to God’s answers.
3
Finish your sentence
Once you have told him everything you wanted to say, you can finish by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
We do this because Jesus commanded us to pray in His name and everything we do must be done in His name.
4
Start working on the right things you have asked for
There is wisdom in the saying, “Pray as though everything depended on the Lord; and work as though everything depended on you.” It is in the process of doing and acting that we often receive God’s guidance and help.
When to pray
There is no such thing as “praying too much.” God wants to hear from you when you are happy, sad, or just need to talk to someone. You can pray whenever you want or need to. In fact, if you feel like you don’t want to pray or like God doesn’t want to hear from you, that may be the best time to pray.
“For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye need to pray.” 2 Nephi 32:8
Pray alone and with others
Strive to talk to God individually and on a regular basis. You can also pray with others during worship services, before meals, and in family prayer. When we pray with others, usually one person offers the prayer while the others listen respectfully, think about the words being said, and say “Amen” at the end of the prayer to show their agreement.
Pray during the day
In Psalm 55:17, King David said he would pray “in the evening, and in the morning, and at noon.” Typical times to pray are in the morning at the beginning of the day, in the afternoon before each meal, and in the evening before going to sleep. However, there is no wrong time to pray. God is always listening, so we can “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Praying in special circumstances
There are times when additional prayers are required, such as a prayer for healing, for protection, or for urgent needs. Fasting (abstaining from food and water for a period of time for a specific purpose), combined with prayer, helps show God your sincerity and offers spiritual strength.
Receiving answers to our prayers
God promises us that when we turn to Him in prayer, He will give us answers and guidance.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).
God communicates with us through the Holy Spirit in the form of good ideas and thoughts or feelings of peace and comfort. When we have these feelings, it means that God is encouraging us, showing us truths, and giving us direction.
Each person will experience the Holy Spirit differently. In the Bible, He is often described as a “still, small voice” (see 1 Kings 19:11-12) that almost seems to whisper in your mind.
God often answers our prayers through other people. He may put people in our lives at just the right time who can give us or be the answer we seek. We can also get answers to our prayers by reading what His prophets have taught in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. When we pray and read these books, the Holy Ghost can give us personalized insights and direction. Taking time to study His Word is also a way to show God that we really want His answer.