Lesson for April 16, 2017

Lesson for April 16, 2017 Today our lesson was given by Maggie Kopp about chapter 6 in the manual about “How Great is a Thing of Prayer?” Maggie asked us if there is a person in our lives who is easy to communicate with. Why is that person that easy to communicate with? They assume the best about us. They listen without judging. They are interested in what we say and in us. They are good listeners. They are trustworthy. Not only are they good listeners, they have good things to say. Related to prayer, we need to think of what we need to do. We need to draw near to God and maintain a close relationship. We need to be grateful. We need answers and comfort. President Hinckley mentioned praying for protection, for help for our loved ones, for strength to do what we need to do. It is personal and individual. Ask for what you need and the important things we need in our lives. How do we prepare ourselves to pray? Have enough time to pray and receive an answers. Don’t be so worried about finishing quickly, for example, to go to bed. Think beforehand about what there is to pray about to avoid those vain repetitions. Getting rid of distractions so we can pray—leave the phone in another room, turn off the television, and make sure kids are in a state where they are calm. Pretend that when we kneel down, that we are held by our Heavenly Father. Mary Jane Woodger said her prayers are more meaningful by remembering the attributes of Heavenly Father and who he is. During family prayer we have to remember that the blessings may not be readily apparent. It is a time to be loving and not require that we or our children need to be perfect. We need to be flexible and change according to the age of our family. Small children are not the same as teenagers. We may have to change the time when family prayer takes place, even having it in shifts. The scriptures say that fervent prayer avails us much. A fervent prayer is a passionate prayer and can be work. We can combine meditation and prayer so we can focus on what is covered in a prayer. One thing that can make our prayers more fervent is to really ask that the Lord will forgive our sins, and that opens us up to the Spirit. A barrier could be being embarrassed to admit failures to Heavenly Father, rather than treating Him like our closest friend. We can admit how we’re feeling, because isn’t that what Jesus did in His prayers. Humility, and sincerity could be admitting that we cannot do some things on our own without His help. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out if what we want is just what we want but is not what our Heavenly Father wants for us. It is a wrestle to know what His will is. We are not informing God, but we are figuring things out for ourselves and hoping for inspiration. Sometimes the changes it makes in ourselves can make us more open to becoming better and making our prayers more meaningful. As we listen to the Spirit, we can be more open to our Heavenly Father and the influence of the Spirit. Prayer can help us and change our hearts. Lesson