I gave a talk in the YSA branch on Sunday. I thought it went well. Here's approximately what I talked about:
Do y’all know what I love about being in this branch? I LOVE the possibilities. I LOVE the new beginnings. I LOVE watching y’all make good decisions and
grow and become. Who knows what
literature, law, science, invention, insight, research and art will come from
all of y’all? Who knows how the world
will be blessed as a result of your efforts and inspiration?
One of the reasons y’all will achieve great things is because
you will not be alone. The Lord is
willing and waiting to open the windows of heaven and magnify your righteous
undertakings. He will bless you. He will bless your relationships. If you come unto Him and serve Him, He will
take the talents and abilities you possess and make marvelous things happen.
But in order to make marvelous things happen in our lives, we
must communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer.
Communication with Him is probably the most frequent
commandment we find in the scriptures.
We are admonished, over and over, to lift up our hearts and our voices
in prayer to our Heavenly Father.
“Pray always,” the Lord commanded us in these latter-days,
“and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing.”
(D&C 19:38) The Book of Mormon teaches, “Ye must pour out your souls in
your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness” (Alma 34:26) The
Apostle Paul taught that we should “pray without ceasing. And in everything
give thanks.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18) Even Jesus Christ, our Savior and
Exemplar, often prayed to the Father. If
He felt such a need to pray, how much more should we pray?!
But sometimes my communication stinks. Sometimes I find myself praying and repeating
the same things over and over. Sometimes
after a long day I’ll climb in my bed and start to pray, but my thoughts trail
off as I fall right to sleep. And sometimes, I try to say a sincere prayer, but
my mind wanders everywhere and before I know it, I’m writing poems in my head
about belt buckles and taking tests.
I don’t think I’m alone.
We all have good intentions when we pray, but we often forget the divine
power that comes with sincere prayer and that communication with Him is a great
blessing.
Because prayer is such a sacred gift, we should treat it as
such by praying often and sincerely. So…
this week, I researched how to make prayer a more sincere and meaningful part
of my own life. I came up with some of
my own tried-and-true tricks, and a few new ideas too. And because I love lists, here is my list of 15
Ways To Make Prayer More Meaningful:
1. Learn to
pray by doing it.
It seems obvious… but sometimes we just need to embrace the Nikey motto and
“just do it!”
I love my mom. I really love my
mom. But life gets busy and sometimes, I
forget to communicate with her. She has
expressed how much my phone calls mean to her.
So I try to remember to call her single every day. I “just do it!”
If my mom loves hearing from me every day, how much more does Heavenly Father
want to hear from us? “Just do it!”
2. Spend time
meditating on great prayer passages from the scriptures and our latter-day
prophets and uplifting reminders/quotes.
I just put this one up on my white board this week: “When prayer becomes a
habit, miracles become your lifestyle.”
3. Picture
Heavenly Father standing right in front of you.
Last year someone asked me if I could picture my Heavenly Father. I had never thought much about what He looked
like. In the temple we see likenesses,
but I had never really embraced the idea of picturing Him for myself. As I’ve tried to picture what He might look
like in my head, I picture someone who looks a bit like my earthly father only
older and taller. It helps to remember
that.
4. Try and reword
repetition.
This one is easy to fall into. But
someone suggested to me that we can be more specific rather than falling into
repetitions. Instead of saying ‘nourish
and strengthen.’ I instead ask for help not to overeat. I literally tried doing that this week…. It
worked. I didn’t overeat that meal.
Perhaps I should pray for help not overeating every meal, but I don’t want to
fall into repetition….
5. Pray in the
car and the shower.
Usually the most productive and open conversations are when you can “ramble” to
Him and have time to think, ponder and listen without feeling rushed. The shower works for me. My sister gave me this idea a few years
ago. And it really works.
6. Whenever
possible, kneel.
It does make a difference. And kneeling
in the shower is OK too. But not so much
in the car.
7. Whenever
possible, pray out loud.
Joseph Smith prayed out loud during the first vision and it worked for
him. The prayers I say out loud keep me
focused.
8. Listen and
ponder a LOT.
“Be still” before and after prayers.
Remember, communication is a two-way street.
When I was struggling with peace between my 7 and 8 year old daughters, I
prayed for help. I listened, and
pondered and Heavenly Father gave me revelation that “cured” the unhappiness in
our home. The revelation was to make a
mix CD of happy songs to wake up too every morning. It totally worked. And although I love music, I know that it was
because I was listening that I got that specific revelation for my family.
9. Specific
prayers receive specific answers. Vent.
Be honest. Tell Heavenly Father
when things do not make sense, or when things stink. Be transparent with
doubts, questions and concerns.
Last week, I was struggling with the heat, stressed out about the amount of
work I had to do, and couldn’t sleep. My
mind was racing and I couldn’t focus on one thing at a time, let alone fall
asleep. I knew I wasn’t going to calm
down at all unless I talked through my thoughts to someone, so I began
talking to my unconscious husband. I
started to feel a little calmer when I realized I was talking to the wrong
person. I needed to turn to my Heavenly
Father. I continued voicing my concerns
only to Him. I felt strongly that He was
there listening. I easily fell asleep
after that.
Heavenly Father knew I was struggling that night, and He knew why. I didn’t have to tell Him. But talking through my stresses and concerns
was so incredibly helpful and I remember feeling so loved. He cares about every detail of our lives, no
matter how small or insignificant they might seem.
10.
Your night time prayers do not necessarily have to be
right before hopping into bed – it’s OK to do it a little sooner so you’re more
“awake” for it. And if you do wait until
you are totally exhausted, please “check in.”
Just saying, “Hi, I love you.
Let’s talk tomorrow,” keeps you in the habit.
11.
Ask for help with your prayer.
I was reading about prayer when I came across this idea. The woman who recommended this idea said that
when she asks for help with her prayers, she finds herself saying, thanking and
asking for things she didn’t think of until then.
I immediately tried it. It was a great
experience. I wouldn’t recommend it
EVERY time you pray, but it is a great experiment to try once in awhile.
12.
Give a gratitude-only prayer.
A gratitude-only prayer is also a great way to pray. It’s easy to forget the many things we’ve
been blessed with. It’s important to
show gratitude. And this kind of prayer
instantly lifts your spirits if you are feeling down.
13.
Keep a prayer list and be ready for revelation.
Just as prayer helps us through trials and gives us guidance and direction, it
can lift up and help others too. If we
know of someone going through a trial, making a life decision, or we just feel
prompted to pray for a specific person, we should pray for them. When our hearts are filled with Christlike
love toward others, our prayers will become more sincere and meaningful. Keeping a list helps us to remember to pray
for them.
And writing down the revelation after receiving it can also help us to remember
to act upon it. I often receive answers
to prayers when I’m least expecting it.
It happens when I’m driving in silence, reading my scriptures, or
working in the kitchen. I often wonder
how much inspiration I would receive if I would take more time to sit in
silence instead of filling my life with noise.
President Russell M. Nelson said “In coming days, it will not be possible to
survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant
influence of the Holy Ghost.” If that’s
true – WRITE IT DOWN!
14.
Tell Heavenly Father about your life.
He actually likes to hear from us, even if He already knows about us. And it’s fun to talk about ourselves, like
Toby Keith says, “I wanna talk about ME!”
And Heavenly Father is a captive audience!
15.
Sing your prayer.
Ten years ago I was struggling with extreme depression. I was in such agony
that prayer seemed impossible to me. I
couldn’t form the words through my constant tears. I remember often humming or
singing the chorus of “I Need Thee Every Hour” as I couldn’t get out of bed. That song became my prayer for over 6 months
when I couldn’t pray any other way.
Heavenly Father has said that “the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me.”
Notice that He doesn’t add that you have to be a good singer. Hymns and songs of praise can definitely
serve as our prayers when we need them.
I promise that Heavenly Father hears and answers our
prayers. And when we pray sincerely and
with real intent, we will be blessed.
I witness that God lives.
I testify that Jesus is the Christ.
I know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the
world. The church today is led by a
prophet of God.
Through the power of prayer, millions of people today add
their voice to these truths. And I hope that each of us can make our prayers
more meaningful and sincere. I hope that
we will lift up our voices to our Heavenly Father and pray always….. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
