Prayer

Sometimes I get too casual with prayer and forget the power of prayer. I forget that I can and should talk with God. I don't know why I do this because I know that prayer can open a channel directly to Heavenly Father. I know that it is possible to have a "conversation" with God when we pray. Over the years I've seen prayers answered - sometimes quickly, sometimes with the answer "not now" or "not that way." 

Virginia Hinckley Pearce has some powerful counsel about prayer.

I believe in prayer, …this small and simple practice by which great things are brought to pass.

Prayer is certainly the most basic religious ritual—of all faiths. All those who believe in God seek him in some form of prayer. It is the earliest religious behavior we teach to our tiny children. And yet, the process of prayer cannot be fathomed by the human mind. None of us understands how it works, even though we may have had a lifetime of experience with it.

“Ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.”  2 Nephi 32:9 

Prayer works. It does indeed call down the powers of heaven. It reconciles our will with the will of the Father. It consecrates even our most adverse experiences to the welfare of our souls. Through combined prayer we experience love, unity, and power that are impossible to describe. ... And along the way we experience tender mercies over and over—those unmistakable messages from him: “I am here. I love you. You are living your life with my approval. Everything will work together for your good. Trust me.”

Read the complete talk here