Prayer and Faith: You can’t have one without the other

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints means so much more than just being a “Mormon.” For my husband and me, it is a lifestyle.  We believe that choosing to live this way has deep eternal consequences attached. We made the concrete decision to raise and teach our daughters to know these truths, why these truths are important, and in turn; we have the hope that they too will choose the same pattern.

Faith and prayer are a part of these truths that I speak of. Parents who have a central faith integrated into their families have a higher chance of staying together. They share a common bond that allows them to have reasons and incentives to make their marriages and families work. Take prayer for example, there have been scientific studies and research that have found that prayer has been an essential factor for families that have been built stronger bonds with each other. Prayer was taught to me by my parents; my husband learned to pray from his parents, and together we have taught our daughters to pray as well. We agree with John, when he wrote: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in faith" (3 John 1:4). Teaching my daughters to pray, I feel is the best way for me to teach them about faith. Prayer and faith go hand-n-hand. It takes great faith to pray, and prayer will build faith. How can I expect my daughters to walk in faith if I don’t teach them about these principles?

Prayer will help build a sacred bond not only between you and family members, but also with God. It allows a couple to show gratitude during the good times, and it gives them strength during the bad ones. When prayer is viewed as something sacred, then it will be taken much more seriously. Nathan M. Lambert who is a professor of Family Life at Brigham Young University, wrote: “Drawing on the powers of heaven through prayer is a powerful resource available to couples that can make a good relationship better and can heal a faltering marriage” (p.198). Prayer is influential; it will give aid to all who use it sincerely and who are seeking for that divine communication between him and God.

My own children have been wonderful examples to me. Now that they are teens, I am pleased to see that they love to pray, believe in it and are willing to offer prayers on the behalf of others who may be in need. As a young mother, I was so concerned about teaching my daughters the right things. Never would I have understood during that time, that one day they would be teaching me. No matter what one’s faith or religion is, if he or she develops at the least, these two principles, faith and prayer, then I really believe that their lives will have more meaning and peace.

Feel free to follow this link to read more on prayer: 

A House of Prayer

Just as we want our children to turn to us for counsel and comfort, our Heavenly Father wants us to turn to Him. He asks that we “pray always, and be believing” (D&C 90:24).  When our children kneel with us in prayer and hear ourpleadings in their behalf, the foundation of prayer is laid in their own lives.