LDS Quotes on Prayer
It is not, never has been, and never will be the design and purpose of the Lord—however much we seek him in prayer—to answer all our problems and concerns without struggle and effort on our part. This mortality is a probationary estate. … We are being tested to see how we will respond in various situations; how we will decide issues; what course we will pursue while we are here walking, not by sight, but by faith.
| Ensign, Jan. 1976, p. 11
“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.”
| “Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, December 1974, 5.
The constant exercise of our faith by lofty thinking, prayer, devotion, and acts of righteousness is just as essential to spiritual health as physical exercise is to the health of the body. Like all priceless things, faith, if lost, is hard to regain. Eternal vigilance is the price of our faith. In order to retain our faith we must keep ourselves in tune with our Heavenly Father by living in accordance with the principles and ordinances of the gospel.
| “The Constant Exercise of Our Faith,” July 1973, Ensign, p. 59
“Sometimes ideas flood our mind as we listen after our prayers. Sometimes feelings press upon us. A spirit of calmness assures us that all will be well. But always, if we have been honest and earnest [in our prayers] we will experience a good feeling – a feeling of warmth for our Father in Heaven and a sense of his love for us.”
| Ensign, October,1981, p. 5
“Prayer is the passport to spiritual power.”
| Ensign, November 1990, p. 47
Faith in the Lord is trust in the Lord. We cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. As a result, no matter how strong our faith is, it cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him in whom we have faith. Remember that when your prayers do not seem to be answered in the way or at the time you desire. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security and serenity in our lives.
| “The Atonement and Faith,” Ensign, April 2010, p. 30
“God has created us to love and to be loved, and this is the beginning of prayer — to know that he loves me, that I have been created for greater things.”
“Too often we pray to have patience, but we want it right now!”
| Waiting upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done, October 2011 General Conference
“The strait and narrow path, though clearly marked, is a path, not a freeway nor an escalator. Indeed, there are times when the only way the strait and narrow path can be followed is on one’s knees!”
| “A Brother Offended,” Ensign, May 1982, p. 37
“But is prayer only one-way communication? No! . . . At the end of our prayers, we need to do some intense listening – even for several minutes. We have prayed for counsel and help. Now we must “be still and know that [He is] God” (Ps. 46:10).”
| Ensign, October 1981, p. 5