New Insights Into Prayer - Asking and Seeking

"Prayer" is the word we use to describe the communication with our Heavenly Father. President Hinckley said, “Your daily conversations with him will bring peace into your hearts and a joy into your lives that can come from no other source."  It truly is a sacred privilege, but I have to confess that most of my prayers throughout my life have felt less like communication and more like a soliloquy.  Education Week has helped change that, and I want to share some of the ideas that are helping me to improve my prayers.

Instructor David Bean, who teaches institute and supervises seminaries in Boston, said that he doesn't start praying until he feels the companionship of the Holy Ghost.  This was a new thought for me, although it is something that most people probably know and take for granted.  I've always just started praying, and although I had real intent and worthy desires, I seldom felt that anything was really happening.  Now I try to remember to wait for a minute or two until I feel the Spirit of the Lord, and then go on with my prayer.  Sometimes when I forget and just plow into the prayer, as soon as I remember, I pause and wait for that feeling.

This has made a huge difference in my prayers.  I may be using much the same words as before, but the joy of feeling the Spirit has made my prayers such a spiritual feast!

The Bible Dictionary has some wonderful information on prayer, and contains this thought:  "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."  Brother Bean said that God may have a blessing for you that has your name on it, but He will not grant it to you unless you ask for it.  He will not interfere with our agency or the agency of those we're praying for.

We need to be sure we are asking for those things that are the will of the Lord.  This we do by finding out through the Savior what His will is.  The Bible Dictionary says:  We pray in Christ’s name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes the wishes of Christ—when his words abide in us (John 15:7). We then ask for things it is possible for God to grant. Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ’s name at all; they in no way represent his mind, but spring out of the selfishness of man’s heart.
 
When we have invited the Spirit and are seeking to pray for those things He has in store for us, it's OK for us to ask Him what we should ask for.  We may ask, "What question should I be asking right now?"  This question came from Barry Ewell in his class on Family History, but it can apply to all areas of our lives.

My next post will be about how the Lord answers those prayers.