Recovery to Mormonism

Prayer

While we are on earth, we’re separated from God.  The Fall of Adam separated us from His presence while we are here.  We are also separated from God by birth.  In Mormons’ beliefs, we all lived with God before we came.  Prayer is the way that we may speak with God, that we may have contact with Him, despite our distance.  Through prayer we receive guidance and blessings, express gratitude, and establish a connection with our Father in Heaven. 

Since prayer is the way that we communicate with Heavenly Father, it makes little sense for prayer to be repetitious and scripted.  We shouldn’t use the same words every time—we should make our prayers unique and individual—based off our own thanks and our own needs.  And prayers can be spontaneous.  This isn’t to say that Mormons have no prayers with set wording—in specific instances, this is what they use.  These specific instances are in the case of ordinances like baptism and the sacrament.  Set wording is needed in those cases.  But, in personal prayer, we should avoid formulas and seek to pray thoughtfully and with the influence of the Holy Spirit.  Patterns are all right, though, and members of Mormonism use a pattern similar to that set forth by Christ in the New Testament.  They begin by addressing God as “Heavenly Father.”  After this, they thank Him for their blessings.  This section of the prayer should be given priority.  Praying is not just about asking for what we lack—God has given us all so much.  We can thank Him for general or specific blessings—we can thank Him for both large and small.  A beautiful sky, or surviving an accident.  We can thank Him for our family, for succeeding in a difficult task, for understanding a failure, for reconciling with a friend.  We can be endlessly grateful.

After gratitude has been expressed, then we ask for blessings and aid, as we need.  Like blessings, this can be general or specific, large or small.  We can ask for healing—for ourselves or for others.  We can ask for peace in the world, for the cessation of war.  We can ask for strength and understanding.  We can ask for protection from physical danger and spiritual temptation.  We can ask for guidance in decisions, we can ask for guidance in the midst of doubt.  We can ask that the Lord’s work go forward.  We can ask not to be late to the bus, even. 

But the other part of asking for blessings is a willingness to accept that all matters are in the Lord’s hands.  Sometimes, it is not to His purpose to give us what we desire.  We must always remember that God is loving and wise, even when something that happens to us (or does not happen to us) is painful.  We may wish we had personal control over some things that we do not—but it will be according to God’s will and not ours. 

And as they end, all prayers are offered up in the name of the Savior.  Mormons believe that Christ is our Advocate, our Mediator with the Father.  It is through the grace of Christ that we may receive the blessings of the Father and be able to return to Him.  So, prayers are concluded with “In the name of Jesus Christ, amen,” or a similar phrase.

Mormons pray twice a day, in the morning and the evening, as well as prayers done over meals.  Although meal-prayers are often public, the morning and evening prayers should be given in private, while kneeling with head bowed, eyes closed, and arms folded.  But personal prayers can also be given at any time—in the Mormon religion, members are to always have a prayer in their hearts—always be open to the Lord’s guidance and influence in everything they do. 

Family prayer is also important.  By praying together, families are unified and receive spiritual strength.  Members of the family take turns giving the prayer, and all say amen at the end, to indicate their agreement and emphasize their closeness, both with each other and God. 

Every Mormon Church meeting has a prayer at the beginning and the end of it.  These are meant to invite the Holy Ghost into the meeting.  They shouldn’t be little sermons, though—heartfelt and simple. 

Everyone can pray and it’s a wonderful privilege to be able to speak with God—to thank Him and to receive his guidance.  We should never neglect this—we only harm ourselves by doing so.  The Book of Mormon declares: “For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray” (2 Nephi 32:8).