Sincere Prayer

Praying is an act of faith. And at times, it can be difficult to pray. We can become stubborn, or prideful, or convince ourselves that God isn't really listening and we won't recieve an answer to our prayer. But those feelings do not come from God.

"And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. 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. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul." (2 Nephi 32:8-9)

As children of a loving Father in Heaven, He wants to hear from us.  Sometimes we don't know what to pray for. But all we have to do is tell God what is in our hearts. We can ask for things that we are in need of, tell Him how we're feeling, thank Him for blessings He's given us, and pray for others. Sometimes it's important that we ask Him for guidance in making important decisions, or ask for help to line our will with His. But what's most important is that we are praying. When we call on Him, it shows that we have faith that He is there and that He is aware of us. Prayer is a commandment given to each of us. By following this commandment, we can recieve many blessings.

President Spencer W. Kimball said, "Why should we pray? Because we are the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, on whom we depend for everything we enjoy. We all are under heavy obligation to our Lord. None of us has reached perfection. None of us should get so busy in our lives that we cannot contemplate with prayer. Prayer is the passport to spiritual power. Prayer is such a privilege—not only to speak to our Father in Heaven, but also to receive love and inspiration from him. At the end of our prayers, we need to do some intense listening—even for several minutes. We have prayed for counsel and help. Now we must “be still, and know that [he is] God.” (Ps. 46:10.) "

I know that our Heavenly Father loves each of us so much, and He does hear and answer our prayers. I have seen many miracles throughout my life because I was willing to turn to Him in earnest prayer. He is there and He's waiting to hear from us.