Do You Say Your Prayers, or Do You Pray?

I say my prayers often. On rare occasions, I pray.

Do you pray? Or do you simply say your prayers?

Discover the difference between saying and praying with the following personal experiences.

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Prayers

Three personal examples of prayer teach what praying looks like:

Charity

Some time ago, I awoke in a cold sweat, the image of a person in my mind. Compassion filled my soul as I considered the devastating toll this person’s choices have had on them over many decades. In that moment, I could feel a portion of their pain, their fear, their loneliness.

Then, I wept.

I wept and I prayed for God to have mercy on this individual. For hearts to be softened. For change to take place. And for peace to be restored.

This powerful experience came days after I began to earnestly pray to receive the gift of charity.

Safety

Many years earlier, I prayed another prayer. This for the safety of my son. Our family found ourselves in the midst of a harrowing situation. Through a series of truly miraculous events, which began with an earnest, heartfelt prayer, my son’s life was spared.

Lost and Found

As a child, too, I prayed. The prayer, offered in the presence of a friend, was simple, yet sincere: “Please help my friend find her lost earring.” Moments later, the earring was found.

While my prayers are not always answered in the way I desire, the feeling of connection that comes from praying to God has been both life-changing and life-saving for me.

Still, I often find myself resorting back to saying my prayers.

Wisdom

My friend, Caralee, reminded me that the “scriptures teach us to pray with all the energy of heart. We must pray; we cannot say a prayer and expect it to go very far. Saying a prayer offers almost no connection. But praying from the heart or speaking with our Father in Heaven… that’s inviting a two way conversation.” We shouldn’t say prayer, she taught, in the way that we would say a speech.

My friend’s reminder has increased in me a desire to pray throughout each day.

Welfare

What do I pray for these days? In part, I’m pleading for mercy for:

* members of the church
* enemies of the church
* leaders of the country
* the nations of the earth
* myself
* and my children

as inspired by the talk, The Plan of Mercy, by Elder James R. Rasband in April 2025 General Conference..

Additionally, I am heeding the counsel of Elder Sandino Roman when he said, “…ask [Heavenly Father] how He feels about you and about the direction your life is taking.” Then I make adjustments as needed.

Work in Progress

While I’m continually striving to pray, and listen, and act on communication received, I am a work in progress.

Sometimes I resort back to saying my prayers.

Sometimes I feel too busy to listen.

Other times, I forget to (or choose not to) act.

Conclusion

Through it all, there is God, waiting with the eagerness of a loving Father for His next real and personal communication with me. He waits patiently for me to stop saying my prayers and, instead, start praying.

God is waiting eagerly and patiently for you, too.

Do you pray? Or do you simply say your prayers?

Resources

• Read more inspiration on prayer, including the beautiful way in which one mother taught her children to pray
• Learn more about recognizing patterns of personal revelation
• How do you hear Him? Discover 5 spiritual forms of communication

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Art Credit
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
William Henry Gore
Public Domain
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Henry_Gore_-_Forgive_us_our_trespasses.jpg