How can I know my Heavenly Father?

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Ask the question “How can we know Heavenly Father personally?

QUOTE #1 Prayer is a supernal gift of our Father in Heaven to every soul. Think of it: the absolute Supreme Being, the most all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful personage, encourages you and me, as insignificant as we are, to converse with Him as our Father. Actually, because He knows how desperately we need His guidance, He commands, “Thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private.” –Elder Scott

How should we pray?

-Read Matthew 6:9-13

-Listen to the song “I pray in faith” as you talk about how to pray

-Pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ

-Talk to him as your compassionate, and understanding Father

-Remember that you are his precious child whom he loves and wants to help

-As you pray remember that He is near and listening

-Try to honestly seek what he wants for you and for the strength to do His will

-Express gratitude for all of you many blessings

QUOTE #2 It matters not our circumstance, be we humble or arrogant, poor or rich, free or enslaved, learned or ignorant, loved or forsaken, we can address Him. We need no appointment. Our supplication can be brief or can occupy all the time needed. It can be an extended expression of love and gratitude or an urgent plea for help. He has created numberless cosmos and populated them with worlds, yet you and I can talk with Him personally, and He will ever answer. –Elder Scott

-Should you ever feel distanced from our Father, it could be for many reasons. Whatever the cause, as you continue to plead for help, He will guide you to do that which will restore your confidence that He is near. Pray even when you have no desire to pray. Sometimes, like a child, you may misbehave and feel you cannot approach your Father with a problem. That is when you most need to pray. Never feel you are too unworthy to pray. –Elder Scott

-Listen to the song "I pray in faith"

How are prayers answered?

-Video "Prayer"

-Gentle promptings (that make us think, at times struggle, then act)

-A feeling in your mind and your heart

-A stupor of thought, unsettling or discomforting feeling

-Peace to your mind

-NO response- This is the Heavenly Father showing His in you

-Seek your answers to your prayers. EX: Go to the temple, search the scriptures, seek advice from parents or leaders, read talks, etc

QUOTE #3 “What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is an evidence of His trust. When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought will come, indicating an improper choice, or the peace or the burning in the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision.”- Elder Scott

You are asked to look for an answer to your prayers.  Obey the Master’s counsel to “study it out in your mind.”  Often you will think of a solution; as you seek confirmation that your answer is right, help will come. It may be through your prayers, or as an impression of the Holy Ghost, and at times by the intervention of others. –Elder Scott

-End with an experience you've had with prayer and how it helped to strengthen your relationship with Heavenly Father and your testimony of prayer and its power.

OPTIONAL QUOTES

An important aspect of prayer is gratitude. Jesus declared, “And in nothing doth man offend God … save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.” ¹³ When we contemplate the incomparable gift of prayer and the limitless blessings that flow from it, honest appreciation fills our mind and heart to overflowing with thanksgiving. Should we not, therefore, continually and profoundly express to our beloved Father, as well as we are able, our unbounded gratitude for the supernal gift of prayer and for His answers that meet our needs while motivating us to grow? –Elder Scott

President David O. McKay testified, “It is true that the answers to our prayers may not always come as direct and at the time, nor in the manner, we anticipate; but they do come, and at a time and in a manner best for the interests of him who offers the supplication.”  Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. Your character will grow; your faith will increase. There is a relationship between those two: the greater your faith, the stronger your character; and increased character enhances your ability to exercise even greater faith.