Good Prayers

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, we believe in the power of prayer. But we pray a little differently than most other churches, as shown in this story:

Watoy paused under the colorful Filipino flag outside his school before heading inside.

“Good morning, class,” his teacher said. “It’s time for our morning prayer.”

All around, Watoy’s friends each touched their foreheads, chests, and shoulders to form the shape of a cross. Then they recited the prayer they always said at the beginning of class. As usual, Watoy didn’t join them. Instead, he closed his eyes, bowed his head, and said his own silent prayer. He prayed about different things each time, the way he was taught to pray at home and in Primary.

When he finished and looked up, he saw that his teacher was watching him with a confused expression on her face.

“May I talk to you after school?” she said.

Watoy swallowed and nodded. Was he in trouble?

When classes had ended for the day, Watoy’s teacher walked over to him.

“I see that you never cross yourself or recite our morning prayer,” she said. “Will you please tell me why?”

Watoy breathed a sigh of relief. His teacher wasn’t upset, just curious! He thought about how to answer.

“Well,” he began, “in my church, when we pray, we talk to Heavenly Father about many different things. And the cross reminds us of when Jesus died. But Jesus is not dead. He lives!”

His teacher thought about this for a moment and then nodded slowly.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” she said.

As Watoy walked to football practice, he felt warm and good inside. He liked teaching others about Jesus Christ. (Friend Mar. 2013)

There is a short webpage about prayer published by the church. Here are some excerpts:

You have a Heavenly Father who loves you and knows your needs. As His child, you have the opportunity to communicate with Him through prayer. He does hear and answer prayers.
Through prayer, you can receive divine guidance, strength, and blessings from Him daily. Prayer can help you draw closer to God, receive comfort in troubling times, and know right from wrong.
While on earth, Jesus Christ taught that we should pray to the Father in His name (see John 16:23-24) Prayer should begin by addressing Heavenly Father and end with the statement "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
When praying, speak openly and honestly with God. Express gratitude and thanksgiving for your blessings, acknowledge your love for Him, and ask for help, protection, and direction according to your needs. Prayer is not complicated. You can pray anytime, anywhere—out loud or silently—with perfect confidence that God will hear you
My mom had a thought the other day about expressing gratitude at the beginning of the day. She's read this book called the "Jackrabbit Factor", and it talks about expressing gratitude for what we want to get as if we have it now. She'd always thought of gratitude as a finishing thing, like "I'm gratiful I did that, now I'm done." But now she feels as if it's a motivation.
 
Someone else learned a lesson in prayer from their mother:

One of the important lessons my mother taught me by her example was about praying with a plan. She said it was important to pray that Heavenly Father would guide me. But I should also do my part by having a plan to help my prayer be answered.

One day when I was about six years old, I learned what that meant. I had earned a nickel, so I decided to buy some candy. On my way to the store, I started flipping my shiny nickel in the air. On its way down, I missed catching it, and it fell into some tall grass. My nickel completely disappeared.

I felt very bad, and I decided to pray. I knew Heavenly Father would help me find the nickel. As I finished my prayer, I thought about what my mother had taught me. What plan could I make to help with my prayer?

Suddenly I had a great idea. I would go home and get another nickel. Then I would come back to the exact spot where I had lost my nickel. If I flipped the second nickel in the same way, I thought Heavenly Father could help me find my lost nickel.

I ran home and borrowed another nickel. Then I went back to the spot where I had been before. I flipped the second nickel, this time watching carefully to see where it landed. When I looked down, I saw both nickels lying side by side. I knew that Heavenly Father had helped me.

Heavenly Father loves me, and He loves you. When you have problems in your life, remember to pray and also to think about what plan you will have after your prayer. Heavenly Father will always guide you (-Carl B Cook, Friend Apr. 2013)

I know that prayer can change people's lives. Prayer can help us through trials, and can also help us communicate with Heavenly Father to show our gratitude and happiness.