2 Nephi 32:8-9


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8 And now, my beloved brethren, 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 devil 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 any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

Quotes for Discussion

Pray Always

Pray over, and for your families, your cattle, your flocks, your herds, your corn, and all things that you possess; ask the blessing of God upon all your labors, and everything that you engage in.

Joseph Smith, Teachings, 247

There is one admonition of our Savior that all the Saints of God should observe, but which, I fear, we do not as we should, and that is, to pray always and faint not (see Luke 18;1; D&C 88:126). I fear, as a people, we do not pray enough in faith. We should call upon the Lord in mighty prayer, and make all our wants known unto him. For if he does not protect and deliver us and save us, no other power will. Therefore our trust is entirely in him….

When the world rise up against the kingdom of God in these latter days, should the Saints have any fears? …We should not. There is one thing we should do, and that is, pray to God….

Herein lies our strength….

I have more faith in prayer before the Lord than almost any other principle on earth.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church—Wilford Woodruff [salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2004], 110-111

Have we any right as Latter-day Saints who profess to keep the commandments of the Lord, to open our dances without prayer, or other amusements, and to close them in improper hours and without prayer/ have we that right, professing to be Latter-day Saints, keeping the commandments of the Lord? I say unto you, No. It makes no difference whether it is pleasure, whether it is our daily labor, whether it is the service of the Lord in teaching the gospel and trying to save mankind. Whatever it may be, that thing should be consecrated by prayer, and every performance, for the welfare of our souls.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, Oct. 1919 [salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1919] 145

[G]reat faith has a short shelf life….

Personal prayer can also build our faith to do what God commands. We are commanded to pray always that we will not be overcome. Some of the protection we need will be direct intervention of God. But more of it will come from building our faith to obey….My experience is that He always answers such petitions.

Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, Nov. 2005 [salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2005], 39

My friends and I went to a fireside where the speaker taught us about our Savior’s love….The speaker suggested that to help us remember to think about the Savior, we could listen to the school bell that rang often during the day. Each time we heard the bell, we were to say a silent prayer, even with our eyes open, even walking down the hall. We could thank our Heavenly Father for our blessings, especially for our Savior. We could tell Him of our love and ask for His help. He taught us that in just a few seconds, many times during the day, we could practice thinking about our Heavenly Father and Savior….The speaker suggested that almost immediately we move from praying about ourselves to praying for someone else—a friend, a teacher, a stranger—and asking Heavenly Father to bless that person….It was awkward at first, but soon I found myself thinking about my Heavenly Father and Savior, not only when the bell rang but many times during the day. I remember walking across a muddy field one morning and seeing a tiny yellow flower. It was probably a weed, but to me it was beautiful, and I felt that he had created it just for me. I loved Him so much. My faith had increased, and I was happy.

Patricia P. Pinegar, Ensign, May 1994 [salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 1994], 94

A business associate of mine asked me to go with him to make the acquaintance of and visit and talk with eight wonderful young Latter-day Saint practicing physicians. He wanted me to go to see these doctors and meet them, wishing that I would agree to write a letter of recommending consideration for these doctors so they could successfully get a loan to build a medical clinic….We left Salt Lake City very early….Soon their individual cars appeared at the office. I was then made acquainted with these wonderful, fine doctors, and we were invited into their office. After all had assembled, and we were comfortably seated, the oldest of these eight doctors…walked over and shut the door. Then he said, “Would you mind joining us in morning prayer before we discuss our business with you?” …I was somewhat astounded at this procedure, but I confess I was humbly grateful and proud of these young doctors. The presiding doctor called on one of the other doctors to offer the morning prayer, and he offered a very beautiful, appropriate petition to the Lord and asked for his guidance. To my recollection, I have never had that experience with professional or businessmen before. I asked the doctors before I left, “Is this your common practice?” “Oh, yes, every morning, six days a week, we meet here between 6:30 and 7, where we lock our door, and before starting our duties of the day, call on God our Eternal Father for his divine guidance. If for any reason one of the doctors has important or urgent surgery or an urgent patient call, we go ahead without him, and each takes his turn offering the morning prayer.” Of course these doctors were successful! I thought they were wonderful. How many teachers, how many bankers, how many business or professional men, how many of us follow that kind of procedure every morning? These doctors are seeking the divine guidance of God their Eternal Father, and mainly they are men skilled in science, trained in their profession, but not sufficiently so that they can rely upon their own training and their own natural abilities.

Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, Apr. 1957 [salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 197], 68-69

Asking the right questions in our prayers

· Instead of, “What should I do to be a better person?” we ask, “What things in my life right now are most grievous to the influence of the Spirit?” Or, even more specific, “What should I do differently or better as a father (or mother)?”

· In addition to “Bless the missionaries and help lead them to the honest in heart,” we ask, Wouldst Thou please put someone in my path that I can talk to about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and wouldst Thou give me the courage to do so?

· Instead of “Bless me as a bishop,” we ask, “Of all the duties and responsibilities I have as a bishop, husband, and father, what should be my highest priority in terms of my efforts right now?”

Is there a better question? I remember once praying as a bishop about a man we were considering for a significant position in the ward. My question was, “Will this man do a good job in this calling?” I had a good feeling about it, and so we proceeded to extend the call. However, he informed us of a special family challenge that precluded him from serving at that time. Later, as I wondered why things hadn’t worked in accord with my feelings, the thought came to me, ‘The answer to the question you asked was yes. He would do a good job. A better question would have been, ‘Is this the man we should call to this position at this time?’”

Here are some questions that I have learned from those who seem closest to the Spirit and that I have found to be especially helpful in inviting the Spirit:

· As I think about my experience today in this meeting, what things has the Spirit taught me that weren’t said?

· Before I kneel and ask heavenly Father for help, what is it I really want from Him?

· What gift of the Spirit would help me deal with the specific weakness I am trying to overcome?

· In what areas of my life am I still striving to have it “my way?”

· What do I think about when I don’t have to think about anything? What does that say about my heart?

· What do I fear most in life? How can the Lord help me face and overcome my fear?

· What things give me the greatest joy in life? How do they compare with those things that give the Father and the Son their greatest joy?

· What aspect of my character do I feel makes me most like Christ? Least like Christ?

Gerald Lund, Hearing the Voice of the Lord, p. 286-287

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Have we any right as Latter-day Saints who profess to keep the commandments of the Lord, to open our dances without prayer, or other amusements, and to close them in improper hours and without prayer/ have we that right, professing to be Latter-day Saints, keeping the commandments of the Lord? I say unto you, No. It makes no difference whether it is pleasure, whether it is our daily labor, whether it is the service of the Lord in teaching the gospel and trying to save mankind. Whatever it may be, that thing should be consecrated by prayer, and every performance, for the welfare of our souls.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, Oct. 1919 [salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1919] 145

I remember one personal reason for a short and silent prayer when I once attended a dancing school nearly four decades ago: being given to be faster than the other boys for getting the dancing partner of my choice. ;) But I could imagine many every day situations where one is required to react or decide quickly and thus has no time for a long prayer. And furthermore I would say that prayers easily can develop into empty and ritualized forms if one is always compelled or admonished to pray. I think, that a certain freedom of decision-making should be granted, whether and when one prays, so that the prayer keeps his sincere character and the one who prays does it sincerely and wilfully.

Edited by JimmiGerman
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So when exactly are we supposed to pray? "everything that you engage" is a lot in my day to day life.

What if we're around family members who don't pray? We have holidays coming up soon and I know there won't be any praying over the meals. Is it okay to have a silent prayer in your heart during times like that?

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So when exactly are we supposed to pray? "everything that you engage" is a lot in my day to day life.

What if we're around family members who don't pray? We have holidays coming up soon and I know there won't be any praying over the meals. Is it okay to have a silent prayer in your heart during times like that?

In answer to your first question, the Lord provided a principle such that this would solely be between you and the Lord as to when exactly you will pray.

With regard to family, whose home will be the gathering? The principle I live by is respecting the home owner. If at my house, we pray, because that is what we do at my house. Others can be respectful. If I am at another person's house who I know doesn't pray, then I say a silent prayer.

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