Family Prayer

Little Storms are Dissipated

...Family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of the basic medications that would check the dread disease that is eroding the character of our society.

President Hinckley has encouraged parents to be hopeful and to persist in holding family prayer, even if the blessings of doing so are not immediately apparent: “I give you my testimony that if you sincerely apply family prayer, you will not go away unrewarded.

The changes may not be readily apparent. They may be extremely subtle. But they will be real, for God 'is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him' (Heb. 11:6).”

President Hinckley has said: “I know of no single practice that will have a more salutary effect upon your lives than the practice of kneeling together as you begin and close each day.

Somehow the little storms that seem to afflict every marriage are dissipated when, kneeling before the Lord, you thank him for one another, in the presence of one another, and then together invoke his blessings upon your lives, your home, your loved ones, and your dreams.

Parents can also learn much about prayer from their little ones.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley, quoted in "No Substitute for Family Prayer," Ensign, Feb. 2001

Very Few Lose Their Faith

“I am convinced that one of the greatest things that can come into any home to cause the boys and girls in that home to grow up in a love of God, and in a love of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is to have family prayer.

… I believe that there are very few that go astray, that very few lose their faith, who have once had a knowledge of the gospel, and who never neglect their prayers in their families, and their secret supplications to God.”

If we would help save and strengthen our families, nothing else we do can replace family prayer.

Your wives and your children may be blessed (3 Ne. 18:21).

President Heber J. Grant, quoted in "No Substitute for Family Prayer," Ensign, Feb. 2001, 25, Article by Kent Rappleye

Stays Together

The family that prays together stays together.

Thomas S. Monson, "Heavenly Homes, Forever Families," Ensign Oct. 1991

Prayer = Protection

Wise parents will recognize the protective power of regular family prayer. President Kimball taught: “No mother would carelessly send her little children forth to school on a wintry morning without warm clothes to protect against the snow and rain and cold.

But there are numerous fathers and mothers who send their children to school without the protective covering available to them through prayer—a protection against exposure to unknown hazards, evil people, and base temptations.

President Kimball counseled: “When we kneel in family prayer, our children at our side on their knees are learning habits that will stay with them all through their lives. If we do not take time for prayers, what we are actually saying to our children is, 'Well, it isn't very important, anyway. We won't worry about it.

“If we can do it conveniently, we will have our prayer, but if the school bell rings and the bus is coming and employment is calling —well, prayer isn't very important and we will do it when it is convenient.' Unless planned for, it never seems to be convenient.”

Your little ones will learn how to talk to their Father in Heaven by listening to you as parents.

President Kimball, quoted in "No Substitute for Family Prayer," Ensign, Feb. 2001, 25

Building and Bonding

My sincere counsel to you today is to recommit yourselves to these two basic practices that have been the source of so many blessings....Never let a day go by without holding family prayer and family scripture study. Put this, the Lord's program, to the test and see if it does not bless your home with greater peace, hope, love, and faith.

I promise you that daily family prayer and scripture study will build within the walls of your home a security and bonding that will enrich your lives and prepare your families to meet the challenges of today and the eternities to come.

L. Tom Perry, "Back to Gospel Basics," General Conference, April 1993; see Ensign May 1993, p. 92

Draw the Family Closer Together

Family prayer in any home will draw the family closer together and result in better feelings between father and mother, between parents and children, and between one child and another.

If children pray for their parents, it makes them more appreciative of their parents, and as they pray for one another, they feel closer to one another and part of each other, especially as they realize that they are talking to their Father in heaven while on their knees in family or secret prayer.

Then is when we forget our differences and think of the best in others, and pray for their well-being and for strength to overcome our own weaknesses.

There is no doubt that we are better people when we try to tune in to the spirit of our Father in heaven so that we might communicate with him and express our desire to do his will as we pray for his blessings.

N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, October 1967, p. 56

Sense of Security

I know of no other practice that will have so salutary an effect upon your lives as will the practice of kneeling together in prayer...your children will be blessed with a sense of security that comes of living in a home where dwells the Spirit of God. They will know and love parents who respect one another, and a spirit of respect will grow in their own hearts.

Pres. Hinckley (Satellite Broadcast Jan. 29, 1984) "Cornerstones of a Happy Home.

Strong Faith in the Grace of God

“Parents, help safeguard your children by arming them morning and night with the power of family prayer. . . . Protect your children from daily worldly influences by fortifying them with the powerful blessings that result from family prayer. Family prayer should be a nonnegotiable priority in your daily life.

. . . Make [the scriptures] an integral part of everyday life. If you want your children to recognize, understand, and act on the promptings of the Spirit, you must study the scriptures with them. . . . Through daily, consistent scripture study, you will find peace in the turmoil around you and strength to resist temptations. You will develop strong faith in the grace of God and know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all will be made right according to God’s timing” (“Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority,”)

Elder Richard G. Scott - Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority - November 2014 Ensign or Liahona

Take Away Stress

“I must testify of the blessings of daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening. These are the very practices that help take away stress, give direction to our lives, and add protection to our homes.”

Linda S. Reeves - Protection from Pornography-a Christ-Focused Home - April 2014 General Conference

Provider of Joy and Happiness

“Family prayer is the greatest deterrent to sin, and hence the most beneficent provider of joy and happiness.”

Thomas S. Monson - Hallmarks of a Happy Home - October 1988 General Conference

Family Revelation

I promise you that as you consistently and fervently pray as a family, and as each member takes his or her turn and sincerely prays for others, impressions will come as to what you individually should do to help others. Thus, you can, in family prayer, receive personal and family revelation as to how to love and serve one another.

The Power of Family Prayer - John H. Groberg - April 1982 General Conference