Don’t Forget to Pray by Greg Olsen

I’ve been meaning to post about prayer for a long time now, but it wasn’t until someone asked a Formspring question about it that I finally got around to taking a few moments to write out why I think the LDS approach toward prayer is so unique and beautiful. Then, this morning I decided to spend some time reading a conference talk from a past session (it’s General Conference time again this weekend, tune in here if you’d like to watch!) and I chose to focus on Pray Always by Elder Bednar. What an inspiring message he shares, and it was exactly what I needed as of late. Since the birth of T1 I’ve felt like I’m coasting in regards to my spiritual growth and relationship with God.

I really felt the Spirit speak to me when I read this section:

The patterns used by God in creating the earth are instructive in helping us understand how to make prayer meaningful. In the third chapter of the book of Moses we learn that all things were created spiritually before they were naturally upon the earth. 

“And now, behold, I say unto you, that these are the generations of the heaven and of the earth, when they were created, in the day that I, the Lord God, made the heaven and the earth, 

“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth” (Moses 3:4–5). 

We learn from these verses that the spiritual creation preceded the temporal creation. In a similar way, meaningful morning prayer is an important element in the spiritual creation of each day—and precedes the temporal creation or the actual execution of the day. Just as the temporal creation was linked to and a continuation of the spiritual creation, so meaningful morning and evening prayers are linked to and are a continuation of each other.

I had never really considered each prayer as a continuation of another, but as I continued to read the talk a plan unfolded in my mind for how I could make my communication with God better each day. We didn’t listen to General Conference yesterday because we were traveling, but I am looking forward to spending some time this evening snuggled up with That Husband on my in-laws couch, listening to the words of a living prophet and his apostles! I love the Church so much.

Below is my (polished up) answer to a Formspring question about what makes the approach toward prayer different than some other Christian religions. If you would like advice regarding how you might implement some of these ideas in your own life please email me, I would love to talk it over with you.

How We Pray

We open our prayers by addressing God directly, we usually say “Heavenly Father…”. We then thank Him for the blessings we have in our life, and ask Him for the things we need. We close by using the phrase “In the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.” We teach young children to fold their arms across their body, bow their heads, and close their eyes when they pray and when a prayer is being said. There are no set prayers, each person offering the prayer says what they are thinking and feeling in the moment (I talked it over with TH and we both agreed that the Sacrament blessing is not a prayer, it’s a blessing, though this could certainly be considered an exception.) We strive to use thee, thou, thy, and thine to show respect for God. The words and phrases we use in prayer are simple and easy to understand.

We are taught to pray personally morning and night, twice a day as a family, at least once together as a married couple, and over each meal. We also pray before big events in our lives, the latest example in my life being our drive from Dallas to Chicago where we asked that God would keep us safe.

Personal Prayer

Personal prayers are offered morning and night, on your knees in a private place. It’s an opportunity to talk with God and show Him our gratitude, and to ask Him for things that we need.

When I pray morning and night, I do it in or near my bed. I thank Heavenly Father for the day I had, tell Him the things I am grateful for, ask for help with things that are troubling me, and end by asking for help for others who are struggling. I don’t usually speak my personal prayers out loud. This prayer is said the only kind said in first person singular, the rest are said in first person plural.

Sometimes I pray at different times during the day, particularly when I’m having a tough time. When I’m driving, for example. If I pray while I drive  I of course don’t close my eyes or bow my head, but I do turn off the radio and try to eliminate any distractions.

Family Prayer

My parents were really great at holding both morning and evening family prayer, it’s something we haven’t started doing yet because T1 isn’t old enough to know what’s going on. When we have family prayer we kneel as a family. Growing up we never held hands for this, but I’ve known families who touch in some way during their family prayer time.

Couple Prayer

All couples who marry in the temple are counseled to pray together as a couple at least once a day. We pray together, out loud. It helps us grow closer together as we voice our wants and needs, and often I forget to tell him about someone in my life who is struggling and it opens up a dialouge between us when I mention it in our couple prayer. We kneel together as a couple for this.

Public Prayer

Examples of public prayers include praying before meals, praying in church, or praying before big events. LDS members will usually fold their arms and close their eyes without touching, though I’ve also seen families who hold hands around the dinner table. Those listening stay seated if they are seated, or standing if they are standing, but for prayers before large groups (like a potluck dinner or during a meeting at church) the person giving the prayer will usually stand. Anyone can give a prayer to open or close a church meeting, and in Primary the children are encouraged to do so! Once T1 starts speaking we will welcome and encourage his attempts to offer up the family prayer, no matter how rudimentary they are (in fact it’s usually the child’s simple prayers that mean the most I think.)

Most importantly we try to keep a prayer in our hearts (Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man), and listen to the Holy Ghost as we are offering our prayer before God (Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered).

I would love to have other LDS members comment below and fill in with information I might have missed!

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