Show Notes for Episode 9 of Teach Me to Walk in the Light Podcast. Learn what vain repetition really means and how to avoid it. Also, listen to an inspiring true story from the life of Emily Freeman and how to teach the importance of prayer to your family and more! This episode goes along with the Individual and Family Come Follow Me for the week of February 25 – March 3, 2019.
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**This Episode goes along with the New Testament Come Follow Me for February 25 – March 3, 2019
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PERSONAL STUDY [2:15]
1.The Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13
9 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
2. Matthew 6:7
- But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
3. Come, Follow Me manual for individuals and families on page 35, it says:
People often understand “vain repetitions” to mean repeating the same words over and over again. However, the word vain can describe something that has no value. Using “vain repetitions” in prayer can mean praying without sincere, heartfelt feeling.
4. David Bowman, add the word “because”.
There’s a cool little trick that I learned from David Bowman on how to keep your prayers from falling into routine. It’s from his book Who’s Your Hero? In it he suggests to simply add the word “because” at the end of each phrase as you pray. For example, if you were to say, “Please bless our living prophet” try adding the word “because” at the end. When you do, it then becomes “Please bless our living prophet because…” and you could finish it with something like “because he teaches us how to return to thee,” or “because he shows us the way to be happy.” Adding that one little word “because” is a simple yet effective way of making your prayers more meaningful and less repetitious. And it’s something simple you can teach your kids.
These books are also available on Deseret Bookshelf Plus. To find out more, click HERE
5. Instagram post from Al Carroway about the 12 little things she does to make prayer more meaningful. Here are a few of those suggestions that really stood out to me.
- Picture Him standing right in front of you
- Try and reword repetition. Don’t say nourish and strengthen. What if instead, you ask that it will be good to your body, or that it won’t make you sick, or that you won’t overeat.
- When possible kneel
- Pray out loud
- Listen and ponder for a third of the time you took to pray
- Specific prayers receive specific answers.
- Be honest. Be completely transparent with doubts and questions.
6. Use all 3 members of the Godhead when you pray. We pray TO the Father, THROUGH the Son, but how often do we remember to pray WITH the spirit of the Holy Ghost – having the Spirit with us to inspire us as to what we should say in our prayers.
7. Matthew 6:8
- Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
8. Elder David E. Sorensen taught:
“I believe that our Heavenly Father teaches us to pray because the very act of praying will improve us…Surely, as our Creator, He knows our cares, our worries, our joys, our struggles without our informing Him. The reason our Heavenly Father asks us to pray cannot be that we are able to tell Him something He does not already know. Rather, the reason He asks us to pray is that the process of learning to communicate effectively with Him will shape and change our lives” (“Prayer,” Ensign, May 1993, 31).
9. The Bible Dictionary teaches that we also pray to gain blessings the Lord desires to give but requires us to ask for. It says: “Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings” (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer”).
10. Story by Emily Freeman. A Prayer for Protection, click HERE
Taken from Emily Freeman’s book Even This. Also, check out another great book of hers called The Peter Potential.
These books are also available on Deseret Bookshelf Plus. To find out more, click HERE
11. President Nelson quote from the Come, Follow Me manual for individuals and families on page 35.
“The Lord prefaced His prayer by first asking His followers to avoid ‘vain repetitions’ [Matthew 6:7] and to pray ‘after this manner’ [Matthew 6:9]. Thus, the Lord’s Prayer serves as a pattern to follow and not as a piece to memorize and recite repetitively. The Master simply wants us to pray for God’s help while we strive constantly to resist evil and live righteously.”
12. The Lord’s prayer is a perfect example of how to pray. He shows by example that
- Prayer is a time to show reverence and respect to our Father in Heaven(Matthew 6:9).
- We pray to seek the Lord’s will(Matthew 6:10).
- Part of prayer is asking for things we need(Matthew 6:11; 7:7).
- In prayer we should seek forgiveness of sins (Matthew 6:12).
- When we pray, we may ask for help in overcoming temptation(Matthew 6:13).
13. Quote on Prayer by Brigham Young, click HERE
14. My Little Prayer by David Archuleta, click HERE
For more music by David Archuleta, check out my Amazon Favorites page by clicking HERE
15. EFY song Hear Hears Your Heart by Bryn Castleton & Dillon Finn click HERE to watch the music video.
It is also available on Amazon as an mp3 download
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FHE [17:32]
Links used in FHE are:
Did You Think to Pray sung by artists in Mongolia, click HERE
A Prayer for Protection by Emily Freeman, click HERE
The $5 Miracle, a story of Thomas S. Monson, click HERE
EFY song Hear Hears Your Heart, click HERE
TEACHING TIP [22:11]
In Episode 6, I shared 3 teaching tips by John Bytheway. One of the things he said was that he always comes over prepared and that’s ok, just don’t plan on using all of it.
My goal this year is to be much better and to follow John Bytheway’s advice along with Elder Holland’s. This is what Elder Holland taught on this subject. He said:
“First of all, we are teaching people, not subject matter per se; and second, every lesson outline that I have ever seen will inevitably have more in it than we can possibly cover in the allotted time.
“So stop worrying about that. It’s better to take just a few good ideas and get good discussion—and good learning—than to be frenzied, trying to teach every word in the manual. …
“An unrushed atmosphere is absolutely essential if you are to have the Spirit of the Lord present in your class” (“Teaching and Learning in the Church,” Ensign or Liahona, June 2007, 91).
I’ve decided to not only apply this when I teach in a classroom setting but to also apply this when teaching my children. Whether in FHE, or during scripture study, or when “lecturing” them or giving what I, of course, think are great words of wisdom 😉 I’m making a goal to remember to not over do it. Follow the spirit. Say what’s most important and then let it marinate with them for a while. Let them think on it for themselves. As they think on it, that is when the Spirit will teach them.
#taketimeforfamily [24:52]
Winter Bucket List Idea:
Bundle up, go outside and sip your favorite hot cocoa by a fire.
Many people nowadays have those patio fire pits. Make a fire that you can sit around and make some yummy hot chocolate – our family is a HUGE fan of hot chocolate and we love to buy a zillion different coffee creamer flavors to mix in. For example, my favorite is Reece’s or peppermint or the cinnamon roll flavor – yummy! They are all good. I’m trying to decide if I like the fire or the hot cocoa better 😉 Try it – it doesn’t take long but it does make memories.
If you have any fun family activities or dinner conversation starters that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them. Simply email me at melanie@melanieslibrary.com.
Yours Truly,
Disclaimer: Melanie’s Library is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
