Prayer

April 3, 2011

This week has been a wonderful reminder of the power of prayer in my life. With the insights I received from my reading last week, I decided to continue reading the November 2010 issue of the Ensign, a church magazine. This issue contains all the talks that were given during the October 2010 General Conference. As I've read, I've been amazed at the number of talks that center on the importance of prayer, regardless of what the subject matter of the talk is. A talk about overcoming addictions lists the first step as fervent prayer. A talk on the Gift of the Holy Ghost emphasizes how that is the method through which we receive answers. Prayer is such an important factor to life.

Prayer is the way that we communicate with our Father in Heaven. It is a wonderful blessing to talk with one who loves us more than we can comprehend. I've often heard prayer related to a cell phone. While I was at home, my parents gave me the amazing gift of a cell phone so that I could call them whenever I wished, despite being miles away. My Heavenly Father has given me a similar gift. Through prayer I can tell him what I'm grateful for, express concerns, ask questions, and request blessings. Then I can listen as he answers my prayers through the power of the Holy Ghost.

One of the most amazing parts of this week was teaching a new investigator this concept. At the end of the lesson she was very reluctant to pray, but we reviewed the simple steps of prayer- begin by calling on Heavenly Father, then say whatever is in your heart and be willing to listen for answers, then close "in the name of Jesus Christ- Amen." She finally agreed to give the prayer. She began quickly as though it was a task she just wanted to be finished with already, but then her words began to slow down. As she realized that she really could express whatever was in her heart, the spirit in the room began to change. For the first time in her life, she spoke to her Father, recognizing who she was as his child. A women who initially didn't want to speak to us requested us to come back before we could even suggest a return appointment.

Have you ever taken the time to pray before, knowing that He really is listening. He's your father, he loves you, and he wants to talk to you.