The Conference Message That Caught My—and My Toddler’s—Attention
Listening to the simple words of a Primary song helped me—and my toddler—understand the power of prayer.
Photograph courtesy of the author
For the past few weeks, when my husband and I have been putting our two-year-old son to bed, we’ve paused while singing Primary songs to help him learn the words.
It’s something my husband had the impression to start doing, and we’ve been surprised to learn that our son knows a lot more words to the songs than we expected.
One of his favorites is “A Child’s Prayer.”1
During the Sunday morning session of conference, Primary General President Susan H. Porter spoke directly to Primary children about prayer and quoted words from this song.
Our home felt a bit chaotic as we did our best to pay attention to general conference and keep our two-year-old entertained, but something rather special happened in the middle of President Porter’s talk.
With the laptop streaming general conference on the kitchen counter, my son climbed up on a stool in front of the screen so he could see. He stayed still for a few minutes—a difficult and rare feat for my toddler—and listened as she spoke familiar words that even he could recognize.
“‘Pray, He is there,’” she said. “Speak, He is list’ning’ [“A Child’s Prayer,” 12].”2
God Is Listening
I felt the Spirit strongly as Sister Porter delivered her beautifully crafted message about prayer with such simplicity and sincerity, speaking slowly and intentionally to young children. “When you know that Heavenly Father is real and that He loves you, you can live with courage and hope,”3 she taught.
I was inspired by her invitation to pray to know Heavenly Father is there, pray to grow to become like Him, and pray to show His love to others.
Judging by my two-year-old’s determined desire to watch and listen to President Porter, I like to think he felt the Spirit confirm the truth of her words too.
I smiled as my son again climbed up on the stool to watch as the Tabernacle Choir performed “A Child’s Prayer” after President Porter’s remarks. He told me to stop singing along—“No sing, Mama!”—so he could hear the familiar song sung by the choir, who I admit sings much better than I do.
These tender, heartwarming moments of observing my son were brief and could be regarded as coincidental or insignificant, but they remain imprinted on my mind as a reminder of the simplicity of this foundational gospel truth: God is there, and He is listening.
Testimonies of Prayer
President Porter wasn’t the only Church leader to testify of the power of prayer during general conference.
President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, delivered a powerful address recounting how prayer sustained him during recent trials, even when his prayers weren’t answered as he hoped.
He referred to prayer as “our simplest, purest form of worship.”
He continued, saying, “If there be any time we feel not to pray, we can be sure that hesitancy does not come from God, who yearns to communicate with His children at any and all times.”4
Elder Taylor G. Godoy of the Seventy also testified “of the complete certainty within [his] heart that God hears our prayers and answers them in a personalized way.”5
These messages were a loving reminder from my Father in Heaven that He wants to communicate with me. When I pray, I can feel His embrace, I can be assured of His love for me, and I can live with courage and hope.
“Pray, He is there; speak, He is list’ning”—it’s an invitation and truth so simple that even a toddler can understand.