Prayer is such a wonderful Gift. I think of the Lord and all that he is blessed us with, all that he gives us, has given us, and is willing to still give us and it blows me away that for some of these wonderful gifts the price we have to pay is only to pray. Which, in and of its self is a gift and a blessing to us. Is there nothing that I can do that will not bring upon myself a feeling of gratitude and thanksgiving to my Lord and Savior and my Father in Heaven. The answer is No. There really and truly is not.
In the Bible Dictionary it says this concerning 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, bu 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 it an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.
Thinking on the statement about the so-called difficulties about prayer, I think of people who have said, I can't pray, I just feel like I'm talking to a wall. It is because they do not understand their relationship with God, nor do they truly try to reach Him or speak to Him, They are in fact just talking to a wall, speaking out to nothing and hoping they are heard. That is not what prayer is or how we should go about doing it. God is our Father in Heaven, quite literally. When we pray to Him that must be in our hearts and minds; We are speaking to our Father in Heaven. When you understand that, and you know that you truly are speaking to Him, you no longer feel like your a taking to a wall, or you pillow, or whatever may be sitting in front of you as your pray because, you will no longer be talking to that object. You will be talking to your Father in Heaven.
Prayer is Key in everything we do. One of my favorite scriptures about prayer is 2 Nephi 32 8-9 which read "8. And now, my beloved bretheren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that i must speak concerning this thing. for if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. 9. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform anything unto the Lord save in the fist place ye should pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate they performance unto thee, that they performance may be for the welfare of thy
soul."
How strait forward is that? How plain and simple? how plain and simple is it to know that God is our Heavenly Father? And that, a key to understanding and preforming prayer? Isn't it amazing? it is Amazing. The simpleness, there is no special words, no special place, no special connection. It is simply a child speaking with his or her Father. It is simply looking for direction, approval, advice, and teaching.
Faith plays a large part in our prayers and the depth of our answers as well. Think of Enos, as he went forth to hunt beasts in the forest and the words which he had often heard his father speak weighed heavily on his soul. He went forth and prayed onto his Father in heaven for supplication for his own soul. As he as in the manner of calling upon God the Father a voice came unto him, saying "Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed." The next verse is of most importance. "And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away." And why did Enos know that God could not lie? It was because Enos had faith, faith in God, Faith in the words of his father, Faith in the scriptures. Thus he received his answer, thus his guilt was swept away.
I would hope that we can all have the Knowledge that God is our Father, and that this knowledge will instill in us a desire to speak with Him, to know His will, to seek His approval. I would also hope that we all can have faith like that of Enos. That when we receive and answer we trust it with every fiber of our being. I could go on further about prayer, but I will leave it at this for now. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
