Prayer

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.                                 -Matthew 7:7
Prayer is an interesting thing.  Some people swear by it, others avoid it.  Some make it an everyday thing, some make it a once a year thing.  What is prayer and why do we do it?
Prayer is an act of faith.  It takes faith to get down on your knees and talk to someone that you can't see; and unlike a telephone, the replies aren't often instantaneous.  Prayer is the act in which we talk to our Father in Heaven.
Pray is simple.  The steps are as follows:

1. You address your Heavenly Father.  This includes saying "Heavenly Father" or "Our Father who art in Heaven". 
2. We give thanks and ask for blessings.  Thank Him for all that you have.  This may include things like safety, family, jobs, support and then ask for blessings.   
3. Close in the name of Jesus Christ.  

This is generally followed by an amen.Contrary to common opinion, prayer is not something that we resort to only when in a time of need.  Prayer should be a constant everyday thing, fortifying us in Christ through the good times and the bad.

Prayers should come from the heart.  Why do we pray?  Prayer is the act of bringing your will in line with God's.  Through prayer, we receive blessings that are made conditional upon our asking for them. The scriptures tell us multiple times to pray always.

In a sermon given in 1990 by Ezra Taft Benson, he offers us five ways for improving our prayers.  The commentary he gives on each one is incredible so I highly recommend reading it available here.  The five suggestions are that we should:

1. Pray frequently
2. Find an appropriate place where we can meditate and pray
3. We should prepare ourselves for prayer
4. Our prayers should be meaningful and penitent
5. After making a request in prayer, we have a responsibility to assist in it being granted.

That last one is interesting and is clarified by the following statement that we should listen and actively work those things that we ask for.  Far too often we say our prayers as a wish list with a Heaven bound stamp instead of a conversation.  Sometimes we pray for answers but fail to provide an atmosphere in which the Lord can answer us.   I know prayer works.  I know it has the power to change our lives for the better if we will allow it.  We could all stand to put for a little more effort into our daily prayers and to receiving answers to them.  

_Elder Halbert