Prayer in Family Life

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

Prayer in Family Life

The Lord, as He spoke to His followers in ancient America (about 33AD) taught His disciples:

"Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." (3 Nephi 18:21)

There is a lot of doctrine that can be covered while going over prayer, so, to simplify things I'll link the Church's webpage on it:

Prayer

In one of his talks on a happy home, President Thomas S. Monson (the current leader of the Church) described the counsel he received on his wedding day:

"May I offer you newlyweds a formula which will ensure that any disagreement you may have will last no longer than one day?  Every night kneel by the side of your bed.  One night, Brother Monson, you offer the prayer, aloud, on bended knee.  the next night you, Sister Monson, offer the prayer, aloud, on bended knee.  I can then assure you that any misunderstanding that develops during the day will vanish as you pray.  You simply can't pray together and retain any but the best of feelings toward one another."

Prayer is critical to a well functioning, loving, family life for the children as well as the parents.

Praying in Faith

This is a topic that I am obsessed with--it's that you can't just kneel down on bended knee, get up, and expect your very wish to be granted.  God isn't some magical genie and He won't move our feet with us.  Scriptures in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches us:

"And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith," (Doctrine and Covenants 42:14).

A prayer of faith is one that is consecrated by action--which is the embodiment of faith.  With that being said, if you pray to love your children more, you're going to have to start doing small things to start loving them more.

Prayer and Scripture Study

Elder Richard G. Scott, a current leader of the Church, taught:

"If you want to talk to God, pray.  If you want God to talk to you, read the scriptures."

God has commanded His children to pray individually and as a family every morning and night and He has also given the commandment to read the scriptures individually and as a family--and why is this so?

Because our prayers are often answered as we read the scriptures and seek to hear His voice through His Spirit.