Improving Our Prayers©

I have an idea to help Latter-day Saints improve our prayers. Prayer is one of the main ways to improve one’s spirituality.  I believe that in this time of rapid technological change, abandonment of time tested values and truths, and growing political and social turmoil, deep spirituality is one of the greatest bulwarks an individual and community can possess. Improving my prayers (among other things) has long been an issue which has now taken on a sense of urgency as I’ve grown into old age and I more frequently catch a whiff of the Grim Reaper’s icy breath. That urgency is heightened as I  study prayer and collect scriptures and quotations about it. A couple in particular have urged me forward. In 1980 Elder Neal A. Maxwell wrote:

One can pray and yet not really pray. Prayers can be routinized and made very superficial.  When this happens, there is very little communication and very little growth. Yet, given the times in which we live, improving our prayers should be one of our deepest desires if we are genuinely serious about growing spiritually.(1)

A second one, comes more recently from President Russell Nelson who was encouraging the brethren to grow and increase in priesthood power. He said:

Polite recitations of past and upcoming activities, punctuated with some requests for blessings, cannot constitute the kind of communing with God that brings enduring power. Are you willing to pray to know how to pray for more power? The Lord will teach you.(2)

With these two injunctions, the first instructing us about the importance of improving our prayers as part of our spiritual growth, the second suggesting we may need to learn how to pray regarding some things, I started aggressively studying prayer, especially how to pray, and what to pray for. The latter is particularly important to me, initially because I needed help in my daily prayers to get out of the rut of saying the same things repeatedly. But something interesting happened as I gathered quotations and reviewed some of them prior to my personal prayers. I began to realize that the scriptures and living church leaders have given us a great deal of instruction about what to pray for and without this collection most of those suggestions have gone by the wayside because I forget most of them soon after hearing or reading them.

My idea is: make a collection of statements of the scriptures and Church leaders about what we should be praying for, review those statements regularly and include the appropriate suggestions in your prayer as prompted by the Spirit.

The remainder of this blog is devoted to several examples to give emphasis to the general idea as stated above.  

Scriptures frequently teach us both principles of how to pray and what to pray for. The most obvious example is what the Christian world calls “The Lord’s Prayer,” found in the Savior’s Sermon on the Mount in Mt. 6:9-15. Verses 9-13 give the core of the Savior’s directions as to what to pray for.

9)  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10)  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11)  Give us this day our daily bread. 12)  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13)  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

I do not intend to give a lengthy exposition of this prayer, I only want to call attention to two or three simple things. First, many commentators consider the phrase “Hallowed be thy name” as the first of the Savior’s petitions. Perhaps this is a surprise, because many people consider that part of the prayer as an introductory salutation and move ahead without much further thought. My second point is, however, when you consider that as a petition things change. What does it mean to request that the Lord’s name be hallowed? If we consider it to mean, honored and/or held sacred, then we are asking that the Lord’s name be held sacred. By whom? By ourselves certainly, but is it not in the context of the petition in verse 10, a petition that the Lord’s name may be honored and held sacred throughout the world? If so, how is that to be accomplished, and what is our individual role in that effort? Ah!  Lots of things to think about in one simple petition. My third point is, now that the Kingdom is come on the earth in the form of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, how does this instruction apply in this situation? And doesn’t the Lord’s kingdom imply lots of things that come along with it?  One huge example being the laws of the kingdom. Consider what it means to pray that the laws of the Lord’s kingdom will come. How are they to be implemented and what role should they play in society?  When was the last time you prayed that the Lord’s name would be hallowed among the people of the world and that the laws of his kingdom would come upon the earth and bear sway in the societies of mankind?

Another familiar example from scripture is James 1:5, the first part of which says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God....” Who among us does not lack wisdom in something, if not in many things? Is a request for wisdom, perhaps regarding a specific issue, a regular part of our regular prayers?

Another great scriptural example is Alma 34:18-25:

18) Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save. 19)  Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. 20)  Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. 21)  Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. 22)  Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. 23) Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. 24)  Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. 25)  Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.

Alma instructs us to pray for at least half a dozen substantive things. As one studies prayer in the Standard Works, the list continues to grow and eventually becomes quite extensive.

Living prophets, apostles, and authorized general authorities of the church, both men and women, have over the years given a great deal of instruction about what to pray for. I distinctly remember during President Kimball’s administration he admonished the Church to pray that the national, local and personal barriers, curtains, and walls that prevented the Gospel being taken into some countries and to some people would come down and the “doors would be opened”. In the October 1978 General Conference and numerous times thereafter, he asked the Church to unite in these prayers. Following are two excerpts from this sermon. 

I hope that every family will hold home evening every Monday night without fail.  Missionary work will be one of the strong points that will be brought before it; and the father and the mother and the children in their turns will offer prayers which will be centered around this very important element--that the doors of the nations might be opened to us and then, secondly, that the missionaries, the young men and women of the Church, may be anxious to fill those missions and bring people into the Church

...

So I'm hoping that, beginning now, the prayers of the Saints will be greatly increased from what they have been in the past, that we will never think of praying except we pray for the Lord to establish his program and make it possible that we can carry the gospel to his people as he has commanded. It is my deep interest and great prayer to you that this will be accomplished.(3)

Consider this list from President Ezra Taft Benson in 1977:

For what should we pray? We should pray about our work, against the power of our enemies and the devil, for our welfare and the welfare of those around us. (Al. 34:20, 22-25, 27.) We should counsel with the Lord pertaining to all our decisions and activities. (Al. 37:36-37.) We should be grateful enough to give thanks for all we have. (D&C 59:21.) We should confess His hand in all things. Ingratitude is one of our great sins.

The Lord has declared in modern revelation: “And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.”  (D&C 78:19.)

We should ask for what we need, taking care that we not ask for things that would be to our detriment.  (James 4:3.) We should ask for strength to overcome our problems. (Al. 31:31-33.)  We should pray for the inspiration and well-being of the president of the Church, the General authorities, our stake president, our bishop, our quorum president, our home teachers, family members, and our civic leaders. Many other suggestions could be made; but with the help of the Holy Ghost, we will know about what we should pray.  (Rom. 8:26.)(4)

As I analyze this statement I listed seventeen things he suggested could be included in our prayers, and then he added “Many other suggestions could be made”! Two considerations arise when contemplating this list. First, how can we remember it unless we either memorize it or copy it into a notebook or file on prayer? Second, is it reasonable that each of these items should be part of every personal prayer? If no, then how do serious Saints use the list? Doesn’t that require reviewing it regularly and including the items that the Spirit may prompt for that particular prayer?  

But this isn’t the end of the lists we have. President Hugh B. Brown added four unique items in the following statement:

We must remember that religion is action, no diction. Let us pray that God will deliver us from our dullness of conscience, from a feeble sense of duty, from thoughtless disregard of others, and from all halfheartedness in our work.(5)

Or consider President Hinckley’s recommendation in 1980: “A worthy daily prayer is one asking for the power to be faithful under all circumstances.”(6) Or we can go way back to President Brigham Young who said,

Say your prayers always before going to work. Never forget that. A father–that head of the family–should never miss calling his family together and dedicating himself and times to the Lord of Hosts, asking the guidance and direction of his Holy Spirit to lead them through the day–that very day. Lead us this day, guide us this day, preserve us this day, save us from sinning against thee or any being in heaven or on earth this day! If we do this every day, the last day we live we will be prepared to enjoy a higher glory.(7)

I call attention again to the uniqueness of most of these suggestions. The list can be multiplied and if I did so, we would also see that a number of suggestions, such as praying for the Spirit, for church and civic leaders, for the missionaries and their investigators, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers for the poor and needy, prayers for inspiration, guidance, and revelation, prayers over our family and business, are all repeated often. Common sense tells us that among seven or more billion people, the kinds of things people pray about are infinite, and we Latter-day Saints should be open to the Spirit to inspire our individual prayers in whatever direction the Spirit sees fit. But it is also helpful to be reminded about some of the things we have been and continue to be asked to pray about as a Church and people.  I’ve found it helpful to maintain a list of those instructions for regular review and more frequent inclusion in my petitions. I would also add that the more familiar you are with the list of things we have been asked to pray about, the more likely some of them will come into your mind and heart as you are called upon to offer public prayers.

My prayers have been improved and my life blessed by collecting the counsel of the scriptures and church leaders into a file labeled “What to Pray For,” printing it out and making a habit of reviewing portions of it prior to each private prayer. Quite often something will stand out and I include it in that morning’s prayer. As I have become more familiar with this counsel, I have also noticed that some portion of it not necessarily reviewed that morning may come into my mind as I prepare for prayer.  The process has helped make my prayers more meaningful and personal. I pray that the process also helps me grow spiritually. And I hope this brief review may be of some help in improving your prayers and spiritual growth.

Let’s think together again, soon.

Notes:

1.  Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1980, 91, emphasis added.

2.  Russell M. Nelson, “The Price of Priesthood Power,” Ensign (May 2016): 68, emphasis in the original.

3.  Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1978, 65-66.

4.  Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1977, 45-46, emphasis added.

5.  Hugh B. Brown, Vision and Valor, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1971, 50.

6.  Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, October 1980, 84, emphasis added.

7.  Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, selected and arrange by John A. Widtsoe.  Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1969, 44.