Why should we pray?

[Anonymous]

One of the most basic parts of religion is faith that God hears and answers our prayers. All my life I have been commanded to pray.

The Lord Jesus Christ commanded, “Ye must always pray unto the Father in my name” (3 Nephi 18:19).

President Kimball said: “Why should we pray? Because we are the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, on whom we depend for everything we enjoy—our food and clothing, our health, our life itself, our sight and hearing, our voices, our locomotion, even our brains.

Do you not realize your dependence as you stand in perfect health with your opportunities? Do you think that they are of your providing? Do you give to yourself your breath, your life, your being? Can you lengthen your days by .a single hour? Are you so strong without the gifts of heaven? … Do you have power to do without your Lord?” (New Era, March 1978).

So, I should pray because it is a commandment? Is that all?

This is the topic I would like support from the group on: Why should we pray?

What if I don’t pray anymore? It seems like a primary question, but I just don’t feel a desire to pray anymore. (O me of little faith.) So what? Does it matter?

[Anonymous]

I pray because it changes me, reminds me to be grateful, and reminds me to be reverent. Oh, and I feel fondly toward Heaven, so that I love to pray.

[Anonymous]

Heber13, I have a hard time praying vocally. I’m pretty good at having a prayer in my heart always, but actually vocalizing a personal prayer is hard for me.

A friend of mine said something about fasting that relates to why I still try to pray more formally. I naturally live in the moment, and that’s great in many ways. My mind jumps from one thing to another constantly, and that’s great in many ways. However, it makes it hard to really focus on something like fasting for a purpose – since it’s easy for me to forget I’m fasting when I don’t focus on it constantly. Praying formally makes me focus my mind and identify exactly what I want to say – to consciously identify my desires and my blessings.

It’s very much a discipline things for me.

[Anonymous]

Old-Timer wrote:

Praying formally makes me focus my mind and identify exactly what I want to say – to consciously identify my desires and my blessings.

It’s very much a discipline things for me.

Thanks Ray for sharing. So, would you say it is for internal reasons for you? Like meditation, it helps you figure things out in your own mind?

If I could prescribe to you a guarantee-to-work focus pill, would you ever need to pray again?

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure I would need to pray vocally, but I really do try to talk with God regularly throughout the day – which is what I meant by “having a prayer in my heart always”.

I believe deeply and viscerally that there is a God – and that God is aware of my existence. I think God wants us to grow, and I think He wants to communicate with us – somehow. I think He steps away and leaves us alone a lot, since I think that’s the only way we really can grow, but I do believe in keeping the line of communication open.

So, short answer: I’d still need to pray, but it probably wouldn’t be the exact same need as I have now.

[Anonymous]

This is a tough topic for me. Most of the time it’s just that I don’t have anything to say. I don’t really have much faith that God will help me and I don’t think I have much to offer him. I realize my relationship should be much deeper, but this is probably the most honest statement of how I feel day to day.

[Anonymous]

I am seeing clearly that faith is the first principle of the gospel.

With recent trials of my faith, it impacts my desire to pray. If I have no hope for answers, why should I pray?

I have wondered recently how much of prayer is just me thinking through things, or if there is a real outside influence to enhance my thoughts.

A friend of mine called and needed me to give a blessing because there were evil spirits. Then they said that guardian angels dispelled the evil spirits, and asked if I could see them, they are so beautiful. I saw nothing, I felt nothing. Later, they had to go to the hospital, and eventually receive medication for bipolar and hallucinations. Was their spiritual experience real, or a psychological event?

I have started doubting, as I go through my trials and receive no answers to my prayers, if it isn’t all just self-fulfilling… you believe you are inspired, and your answers help you have more faith in prayer, which help you believe more of the feelings you get, and it grows perpetually. But how many times are our inspirations wrong, and then we just rationalize it and say it is for our learning?

I guess what I need to start researching is doubt and faith. Right now I am starting to doubt a lot of things I used to have faith in.

[Anonymous]

I have struggled with prayer at different times in my life so I “feel your pain”…and the hardest part has been making my prayers honest, sincere, and intimate. I have found that when I do that…I receive much more comfort and peace. Could this be a function of simply being self-reflective and meditative? Perhaps….but it works for me and helps me feel more centered and grateful for the things in my life so I stick with it… I have also been reflecting on the idea that it is important to define and ask for what I really want…even if I don’t receive back an immediate answer or fulfilled request. Sometimes I do…but most times I am just given the comfort and assurance that everything is going to be okay, to not give up, and to keep pushing forward in a positive direction.

[Anonymous]

Even when I have been uncertain in my concept of God, I have still found myself delivering prayers. I remember one prayer in particular that I offered up to, “Dear Heavenly Father, Mother, God, Nothing, or whatever may exist to hear this prayer.” That prayer was a rather angry and tearful one. I wasn’t really offering the prayer because I needed God to hear it. I was offering the prayer because I needed to release it.

At times I pray to commune with my God. At other times I pray to call down strength. Some times I pray in order to clear my mind and open myself. I pray because it is an effective form of meditation for me. Some of these reasons have more to do with God or engender a closer relationship with God than others. Some of my reasons for prayer really have little to do with God.

I’m not sure if this is really much support to you. I feel like we are coming from different perspectives. I don’t know that I am looking to God “answers.” The idea of answers existing…for anything…is more something that keeps me at a distance from our community of saints. But, this is a safe place to exchange understandings. So, I would love to know what you mean by “God answers our prayers.” What sort of answers do you mean? How does answers play a role in your (anyone?s) faith?

[Anonymous]

trill wrote:

I would love to know what you mean by “God answers our prayers.” What sort of answers do you mean? How does answers play a role in your (anyone?s) faith?

I guess I have been swept with more doubt on things since a trial of my faith opened my eyes and woke me up a little, and so I have revisited what my prayers mean and what purpose do they serve. Without hope of knowing they are being heard, I haven’t been motivated to offer them up just for my own purpose to meditate or think through things myself.

I think I am looking for answers or direction on problems in my life. How should I resolve conflicts at home? How should I balance my time between work, family and church callings.

If I feel impressions to my questions, my faith increases that I am being heard. Without any impressions when I pray, it seems fruitless.

[Anonymous]

Prayer can be a tough topic. I always expected to have clear answers as to whom I should marry and where I should go to college. I rarely received any clear answers. I think for me it was because God didn’t feel the need to control that much of my life. I haven’t prayed a whole lot in the last few years. I just kind of stopped doing it without realizing it. There have been a few times in my life where I have finally hit a point where I cannot deal with life anymore and just finally pray and tell God that I’m trying my best and I need something to keep going. Usually these prayers help me release a lot of my frustration and that helps me feel better because I feel that I am being honest with God. There are times when I really need help. I’ve only had that type of prayer three times in my life but shortly after each one something has happened to help my life. The first was when I was in a really bad situation which could have ended my life and I didn’t know how to get out of it. No one in my family or friends knew about what was happening. The next day my sister gave me a call and told me that her home was open if I needed to move. She had been awake all night thinking that I needed to be with her. I did move with her and it was one of the best things I could have ever done. I guess I don’t really know how I feel about prayers but experiences like that one give me hope that there really is someone out there looking out for me. I hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Two things:

1. There is more going on around us than meets the eye.

2. Jesus and other great spiritual teachers emphasize prayer.

[Author]

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