tlcmel said:
I was wondering, how do you guys pray, what do you pray, do you pray daily, how often, and do you feel a sense of peace in doing so?
I pray, kneeling (usually by my bed) morning and night, almost without fail. I open my prayer by addressing God as either "Father in Heaven" or "Heavenly Father." Then I begin talking to Him, pretty much as I would talk to my earthly father.
I thank Him for my blessings, which include His love and concern for me and His unending patience with me
, His Plan of Salvation, His willingness to let His perfect Son accomplish for me what I could not accomplish for myself, and the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ which helps me to understand His Plan and my relationship to Him. I thank Him for allowing me to come to earth to experience mortality, for blessing me with two of the finest parents anyone could possibly have. I thank Him for letting me be born at the time and place I was. I acknowledge the fact that billions of His children are less fortunate than I am, and ask Him to watch over all of them and to help me to never forget how blessed I am. I thank Him for all of the physical things that make my life good... a comfortable home, a good job, good health, etc.
My father died 13 years ago; I ask Him to give "Papa" my love, and to continue to bless my mother who, at 93, is still in remarkably good health. I ask Him to take care of her, to help her to live out the remainder of her days here on earth in good physical and mental health. I thank Him for my sister and ask Him to bless her and her family, especially their teenage son who has cystic fibrosis (particularly since she and her husband are not at all religious and don't pray themselves). I thank Him for my husband, who is one in a million, and pray that he will be blessed with continued good health and happiness. I ask that he will be able to be successful at work, and be helped with the ability to please an unusually difficult boss! I ask Him that I will be a more kind a loving wife -- more the kind of person my husband deserves. I pray for my two adult children. I ask that they will be blessed with good health and with safety wherever they may be, and that they will find happiness in life. I ask Him to help them to be strong and to have the courage to make the difficult decisions that may face them. I ask that my relationship with my daughter will improve. (It's not terrible, but it certainly could be better.
) And, since they are no longer practicing Latter-day Saints, I ask God to help them to someday feel the desire to return to the Church.
I ask God to take care of my pets (I have two Collies and a cat), especially when I am at work and not able to be there for them. Since I have had several loved pets who have died over the years, I ask that He give them peace and rest and that He allow me to be with them again someday.
I ask for help and guidance in living my life in accordance to His will. I ask Him to help me in making the right choices when faced with challenges and I ask Him to strengthen my faith in Him and my love and devotion for His Son. I ask that He will help me to learn to be less judgmental and more slow to anger. I ask Him to help me use my time wisely, so that I will be able to accomplish the things I believe are important in life. I ask that I will have the self-discipline I need to succeed at meeting my goals. Finally, I ask that His will be done, but that He will give me the strength to humbly accept whatever trials I may be asked to endure.
I then close my prayer, "in the name of Jesus Chrst. Amen."
And, why is prayer so important to you? What's your favorite prayer, if you wish to share?
Prayer is important to me because I am convinced that God is really listening to me talk to Him. I can't make it through this life (even though my life is certainly not difficult by any standard) without Him. He has answered so many of my prayers that it is impossible for me to ignore that fact. My favorite prayer is the one that comes from my heart and that nobody else know the words to.