Elder Henry B. Eyring
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"Such a turning to fervent prayer when the world seems out of joint is as old as mankind. In times of tragedy and danger, people turn to God in prayer." Many today hope that the change will last, but "dependence on God can fade quickly when prayers are answered."
There are three reasons that people "drift away from humble prayer": Satan "belittles and then derides it . . . Second, God is forgotten out of vanity. A little prosperity and peace, or even a turn slightly for the better, can bring us feelings of self-sufficiency . . . Pride creates a noise within us which makes the quiet voice of the spirit hard to hear. And soon, in our vanity, we no longer even listen for it."
Third, the gift of agency imbues man with the desire to be independent, often to the detriment of spiritual well-being. "Those who submit like a child do it because they know that the Father wants only the happiness of his children and that only he knows the way. That is the testimony we must have to keep praying like a submissive child, in the good times as well as the times of trouble."
Joseph Smith set an example of prayer. "He prayed with the intent not only to listen, but to obey . . . He was committed to act upon whatever God would communicate to him.
"If we become casual in our study of the scriptures, we will become casual in our prayers."
