Ways that we can make our prayers more meaningful.

To ask in faith means not only to ask, but to do.

Joseph’s question was not simply “which church is right” but “which church should I join.”

Missionaries are full-time teachers, and you and I are full-time finders and we should not pray that the missionaries will do our work.

The prayers of the little girl’s father had to change until they were aligned with the will of the Lord – then his prayers were answered as he prayed to held his girl one more time while she was awake.

The object of our prayers should not be to present a wish list, but to receive the blessings that the Lord is anxious to give us

1. Ask in Faith and act
2. Patiently persevere
3. Not my will, but Thine.

Please notice the requirement to ask in faith, which I understand to mean the necessity to not only express but to do, the dual obligation to both plead and to perform, the requirement to communicate and to act.

meaningful prayer requires both holy communication and consecrated work

We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work!

If you and I would truly pray and ask in faith, as did Joseph Smith – if we would pray with the expectation to act and not just to express – then the work of proclaiming the gospel would move forward in a remarkable way. Such a prayer of faith might include some of the following elements:

• Thanking Heavenly Father for the doctrines and ordinances of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, which bring hope and happiness into our lives.
• Asking for courage and boldness to open our mouths and share the gospel with our family and friends.
• Entreating Heavenly Father to help us identify individuals and families who will be receptive to our invitation to be taught by the missionaries in our homes.
• Pledging to do our part this day and this week and petitioning for help to overcome anxiety, fear, and hesitation.
• Seeking for the gift of discernment – for eyes to see and ears to hear missionary opportunities as they occur.
• Praying fervently for the strength to act as we know we should.

Gratitude would be expressed, and other blessings might be requested in such a prayer, which would be closed in the name of the Savior. And then the consecrated work of that prayer would continue and increase.

Go review H. Burke Peterson, “Adversity and Prayer,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, 18.

“Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other” (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer,” 752-53). Humble, earnest, and persistent prayer enables us to recognize and align ourselves with the will of our Heavenly Father. And in this the Savior provided the perfect example as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. . . . And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly” (Luke 22:42, 44).

The object of our prayers should not be to present a wish list or a series of requests but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is eager to bestow, according to His will and timing. Every sincere prayer is heard and answered by our Heavenly Father, but the answers we receive may not be what we expect or come to us when we want or in the way we anticipate.