Pray Always

Ye must watch and pray always (3 Ne. 18:15).

We should pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ. He hears our prayers and answers them. President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency, talked about these things in a message to the members of the Church. Here are some of the things he said:

It has been my personal experience that when a child prays, God listens.

Let me share with you the experience of Barry Bonnell and Dale Murphy, well-known professional baseball players formerly with the Atlanta Braves baseball club. Each is a convert to the Church. …

“An experience occurred during the 1978 season that Barry described as ‘life changing.’ He was struggling terribly, batting about .200. Because of his poor performance, he was down on himself and felt miserable. He really didn’t want to go when Dale Murphy asked him to come along to the hospital, but he went anyway. There he met Ricky Little, a stalwart Braves’ supporter, but a youngster afflicted with leukemia. It was readily apparent that Ricky was near death. Barry felt a deep desire to think of something comforting to say but nothing seemed adequate. Finally, he asked if there was anything they could do. The youngster hesitated, and then asked if they would each hit a home run for him during the next game. Barry said [later], “That request wasn’t such a hard thing for Dale, who in fact hit two homers that night, but I was struggling at the plate and hadn’t hit a homer all year. Then I felt a warm feeling come over me and I told Ricky to count on it.” That night, Barry hit his only home run of the season. A child’s prayer had been answered, a child’s wish had been fulfilled. … May our Heavenly Father ever bless these sweet souls, these special friends of the Master.

When you pray to Heavenly Father, know that He will hear your prayers and answer them. Pray often and you will find that His spirit is close to you. Remember to thank Him for listening.

(See Ensign, June 2000, pages 2–7.)

Illustrated by Paul Mann