Matthew 6:5-13

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Over the past five years, I have taught a variety of youth Sunday School classes, and inevitably we would have a conversation similar to this each week:

Names have been changed to protect the innocent. ;)

Youth: Various loud conversations about the exciting events of their Saturday night happenings.

Me: Okay, it’s time to get started. Debbie, could you please give us an opening prayer?

Debbie: I said the prayer last week. I think it is Doug’s turn.

Doug: I always have to say the prayer. Why don’t you ask Shelly?

Shelly: Ugh!

Travis: You know your spouse gets hotter with every prayer you say!

Shelly: Fine. I will say it if I don’t have to stand.

And then the prayer would include one or more of the following:

 - Please bless those who aren’t here this week that they will come next week.

 - Please help us to learn something new this week.

 - Please take us home in safety.

 - Please help us to remember to keep the Sabbath Day holy.

All of these requests are worthy desires, but I often felt that they had become what the scriptures refer to as “vain repetitions”. For some reason, when we pray publicly, we often fall into the habit of saying what we may feel is safe and acceptable instead of speaking from our hearts. 

What would happen in our classrooms if we changed our perspective on prayer? What if when we were asked to pray, we willingly stood up in front of the class and paused a few seconds before beginning to invite the spirit to touch our hearts, and then spoke to our Heavenly Father on behalf of our classmates, would it feel as if we had actually invited the Lord to be in the class with us? Would we then behave differently?

As you pray, think about who is not attending. Mention them specifically by name. Let your Heavenly Father know that you miss them and desire to be aware of how you can help them. Let Heavenly Father know that you are aware that the temptations the youth face today are challenging, and as the youth of the church attend their meetings that you desire help and strength to live lives according to gospel standards. Is there an actual concern about returning home safely, or is it just filler because we don’t know what else to say? Maybe we could ask that we return home with a desire to be a better daughter, wife or mother. And that we spend the day remembering our Savior Jesus Christ and do things to draw closer to Him.

Praying publicly can feel overwhelming, and we may feel self-conscious about the words we choose. But if we see it as an opportunity to ask Heavenly Father to help our friends and teachers, prayer will not seem a burden but an occasion to bless others. When we worry more about what Heavenly Father wants us to say and less about what we think our peers would want to hear, Heavenly Father will bless us with the things we should say.

Love, Sister Linnell