From D Kelly Ogden and his book ‘How to Have Mighty Prayer:
We believe that prayer follows four basic steps: We address our Heavenly Father—not the “Lord,” as that term in common Latter-day Saint usage refers to the second member of the Godhead, our Savior, and we are not praying to him; we are praying to our Father in the Savior’s name. We address the Father in a reverent, respectful tone (as we hear him addressed in the holy temple, for example). Then we thank him for the blessings we enjoy. We ask for those things we feel we need. And finally, we close in the name of Jesus Christ, and say “Amen.”
We also use the language of prayer: pronouns such as thee, though, thy, and thine. Our leaders have taught us that those terms constitute a reverential way of speaking to our Father in Heaven—different from the way we talk with anyone else. Those who know various world languages could point out that in some languages the pronouns we use are the formal manner of speaking to someone, while other languages use the informal terms. We don’t speak as we do in prayer because of linguistics; we’re simply following the pattern we have been taught to use in English, when speaking with our Father.
Some people come into the Church from other churches and are accustomed to using you and your. Is that a sin? Certainly not, but we are encouraged to learn as quickly as possible the proper address in prayer. And these forms are not easy, at times..We say, “you can” but, in prayer “thou canst”; “you will” but, in prayer, “thou wilt”; “you do” but, in prayer, “thou dost.” So it does take some practice. If you are not acquainted with these forms, how do you learn them. From practice, listening to others pray who do use the correct form, and from studying the scriptures — that is the language of the King James Bible and the scriptures of the Restoration. ~ D. Kelly Ogden, 8 Mighty Changes God Wants for You Before You Get to Heaven (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004), p. 27-28
