How can I make my prayers more meaningful?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to communicate with Him through prayer. When we pray, we should tell Heavenly Father what we feel in our hearts. We should not repeat meaningless words or phrases. Through sincere, heartfelt prayer, we can feel the nearness of our Heavenly Father.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

Luke 22:41–42; Helaman 10:5; Doctrine and Covenants 46:30–31 (We should seek God’s will when we pray)
3 Nephi 14:7; Doctrine and Covenants 9:7–8 (Prayer should be accompanied by faithful effort)
3 Nephi 17–19 (Jesus Christ prays with the Nephites and teaches about prayer)
Moroni 10:3–5 (Pray with faith, a sincere heart, and real intent)
Bible Dictionary, “Prayer,” 752–53
Carol F. McConkie, “The Soul’s Sincere Desire,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 25–27
Larry Y. Wilson, “Take the Holy Spirit as Your Guide,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 75–77
“Prayer,” True to the Faith (2004), 118–23
“Daily Bread: Experience” (video)
“Face to Face: How can I improve my prayers?” (video)
“Face to Face: What does the phrase ‘nothing wavering’ mean in James 1:6?” (video)

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What meaningful experiences have you had with prayer? What have these experiences taught you about communicating with Heavenly Father? What have you done to make your prayers more meaningful?

When have you heard the young women in your class pray? How can you help them make their prayers more meaningful? How can understanding how to communicate with Heavenly Father help them now and in the future?

What can the young women do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

The Savior loved and prayed for those He taught. When we get to know and love those we teach, we pray for them by name and for specific challenges and opportunities they may be facing.

Video: “Strengthen Our Families”

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

Our class: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?
Our responsibilities: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?
Our lives: Remind the class of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a class presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the class; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help class members understand the doctrine.

Write the names of the members of the Godhead on the board. Invite the young women to use Sister Carol F. McConkie’s talk “The Soul’s Sincere Desire” to list how each member of the Godhead is involved when we pray. Ask the young women to look in Sister McConkie’s talk for answers to the following questions: Why do we pray to Heavenly Father? What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus Christ? How can the Holy Ghost influence our prayers? Invite them to make a list of things they can do to make their prayers more meaningful. They might display these lists in their homes and pick one thing to focus on each week.
Invite the young women to find in the scriptures an example of prayer that they find inspiring (if necessary, suggest that they read the scriptures listed in this outline), or show the video “Daily Bread: Experience.” Ask them to share what they find and what they learn about prayer from the example.
Invite a young woman to come to class prepared to share the story of Ensign Frank Blair from Elder Larry Y. Wilson’s message “Take the Holy Spirit as Your Guide.” Then invite the young women to underline practical advice that Elder Wilson gave to help us make our prayers more meaningful. Ask them to share what they find. Then invite them to imagine that they are teaching someone to pray. What would they teach, and how would they teach it? Consider role-playing a possible teaching situation.
Divide chapters 17, 18, or 19 of 3 Nephi among the young women. Ask the young women to read their sections and share what they learn about prayer from Jesus Christ’s example and teachings and from the examples of His disciples. What can they do to follow these examples in their own prayers?
Assign each young woman to study one of the principles of prayer discussed in True to the Faith, pages 119–21, or in the entry about prayer in the Bible Dictionary. Ask the young women to teach the class what they learn. Encourage them to share personal examples when they teach. The young women might gain additional insights by watching the videos “Face to Face: How can I improve my prayers?” and “Face to Face: What does the phrase ‘nothing wavering’ mean in James 1:6?”

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Ask the young women to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a class to apply what they have learned?
Give the young women a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.
Remind the young women that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.