Mormonism: Prayer
Mormonism has many examples of prayer in every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. However, most people pray to the God in which they believe -- not just Christians or Mormons.
What is prayer?
Prayer is the way we humans on earth communicate with deity. Mormonism teaches that deity is God, our Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Mormonism also teaches that we pray to Heavenly Father in Jesus Christ's name. In other words, Jesus Christ is our connection to our Heavenly Father.How do we pray?
Mormonism provides a simple guideline or format:- Dear Father in Heaven,
- I thank thee...
- I ask thee...
- In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
We are commanded in the scriptures to be thankful in all things. Expressing gratitude to Heavenly Father for all we have (even our trials) helps us be humble and aware of God's love for us.
We can also read in the scriptures that God wants us to pray over all we have and all our needs... so we ask our Father for help. This helps us build trust in Him more than trusting in things or people in the world.
We close all prayers in Christ's name because Christ is our Mediator with our Heavenly Father. None of us can get back to our Father except through Jesus Christ... even with prayer.
When and Where do we pray?
We can pray any and all times of the day or night. Mormonism teaches a prayer every morning and night without any distractions. (I always say these prayers at my bedside.) Mormonism also teaches people to have a prayer in their hearts at all times. (I often pray while I'm driving.) Some people consider meditation a part of prayer in which they quiet themselves and listen, waiting for personal inspiration through God's spirit. Listening is a very important part of prayer to include. For me, it's the hardest part of prayer for me to develop -- I'm still working on my listening skills when it comes to prayer.
Why do we pray?
We pray to maintain a close relationship with God. We pray so we can feel God's presence in our lives and know that we are not alone here on earth. We can also pray for knowledge, understanding, solutions to problems, and for comfort.
The First Step with Prayer for a young man from the Czech Republic
Learn from a humble woman's example about Prayer
Learn More about Prayer and Mormonism:
www.mormontopics.org to read Qs&As about Mormonism
www.mormon.org to read of Mormons and their Beliefs about Prayer
www.lds.org to search endless articles about Prayer
www.mormon.org/book-of-mormon to read about and order a free Book of Mormon
www.mormon.org/chat to chat live with a Mormon missionary
I know that God is aware of me. Many times I sense the spirit when praying, yet I'm still not good at listening for specific answers. Like all relationships, it takes work, time and patience. I will continue to pray the rest of my life and hopefully get better at discerning answers to my prayers!
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