"Say the words..."

"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 32:9

As a missionary, I pray a lot. I pray many times every day. I pray for my family. I pray for the people I meet. I pray for the safety of my companion and me, and for other missionaries. I pray for guidance and strength. I pray and express gratitude for everything I have been blessed with. I love to pray, and I know that my Heavenly Father loves to hear and answer my prayers. I know that because I feel His love and His support every time I pray. When I feel that, I feel like I can do anything He asks of me.

"...I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." -1 Nephi 3:7

There are some times when I don't want to pray. For whatever reason, I just don't want to. Sometimes I'm just tired, or I don't want to pray in a group because I'm shy, or I feel like Heavenly Father is disappointed in me and I don't want to "face" Him.

"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." 2 Nephi 32:8

But then I remember this verse and I realize that whenever I don't want to pray, for whatever reason, it is the devil trying to stop me from praying. He knows the power of prayer. He knows how important the bond between Heavenly Father and His children is. He will try to stop us from strengthening that relationship any way that he can. A phrase that I always repeat to myself is... "If you don't feel like praying, pray until you do." I don't just repeat this to myself, I practice it. I know that it works, and I know that if you try it you will be blessed with a closer relationship with your Father in Heaven which will ultimately give you more joy than you have ever experienced.


A prophet of God, Spencer W. Kimball said this about the blessings of prayer,

"After a lifetime of prayers, I know of the love and power and strength that comes from honest and heartfelt prayer. I know of the readiness of our Father to assist us in our mortal experience, to teach us, to lead us, to guide us. Thus, with great love, our Savior has said, “What I say unto one I say unto all; pray always.” (D&C 93:49.)