From Spencer W. Kimball and the book “A Year of Powerful Prayer”:
In our prayers there must be no glossing over, no hypocrisy, since there can be no deception. The Lord knows our true condition. Do we tell the Lord how good we are, or how weak? We stand naked before Him. Do we offer our supplications in modesty, sincerity with a “broken heart and a contrite spirit,” or like the Pharisee who prided himself on how he to the law of Moses? Do we offer a few trite words and worn out phrases, or do we talk intimately to the Lord as long as the occasion requires? Do we pray occasionally when we should be praying regularly, often, constantly? Do we pay the price to get answers to our prayers? Do we ask for things absurd and not for our good? The Lord promised:
“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. What so ever ye shall ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you; And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall turn unto your condemnation.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:63-63.)
When we pray do we just speak, or do we listen? Our Savior . . . stands and knocks. If we do not listen, he will not sup with us nor give answer to our prayers. We must learn how to listen, grasp, interpret, understand. The Lord stands knocking. He never retreats. But he will never force his himself upon us. If our distance from him increases, it is we who have moved and not the Lord. And if we should ever fail to get an answer to our prayers, we must look into our own lives for a reason. ~Spencer W. Kimball, A Year of Powerful Prayer (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book: 2013), p.242-43
