Prayer

Prayer is such a privilege--to speak to our Father in Heaven. It was a prayer, a very special prayer, which opened this whole dispensation! It began with a young man's first vocal prayer. I hope that not too many of our prayers are silent, even though when we cannot pray vocally, it is good to offer a silent prayer in our hearts and in our minds.

Never hesitate to gather your family around you for your prayers, especially in those times when more than morning and evening family prayer is needed. Extra needs require extra prayers.

Your little ones will learn how to talk to their Father in Heaven by listening to you as parents. They will soon see how heartfelt and honest your prayers are. If your prayers are a hurried and thoughtless ritual, they will see this too.

Difficult as it seems, I have found when praying, other than in private and secret, that it is better to be concerned with communicating tenderly and honestly with God, rather than worrying over what the listeners may be thinking.

Some things are best prayed over only in private, where time and confidentiality are not considerations. If in these special moments of prayer we hold back from the Lord, it may mean that some blessing may be withheld from us. After all, we pray as petitioners before an all-wise Heavenly Father, so why should we ever hold back feelings or thoughts which bear upon our needs and our blessings?

It would not hurt us, either, if we paused at the end of our prayers to do some intense listening--even for a moment or two--always praying as the Savior did, 'not my will, but thine, be done' (Luke 22:42) Ensign Nov. 1979 President Spence W. Kimball