Ellen was booked today, so I'm taking my information to the stage of Kelly and Michael.
Kelly: Today we are hosting some top notch individuals on our program. The widow of Steve Irwin will be joining us to discuss her new book, Tackling Alligators Alone: Life as Steve Irwin's Widow.
Michael: We also have Channing Tatum joining us to talk about muscles and things (seriously, why does Channing Tatum ALWAYS visit talk shows the same day I do). We will start our program though with a young sister missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Please welcome Sister P to our program!
[Kelly kisses Sister P on the cheek and Michael tries to, but she dodges that white handbook violation and shakes his hand; her companion, Sister Dumas is waiting backstage consoling Steve Irwin's wife and teaching the Plan of Salvation]
Kelly: Welcome, welcome! We are so glad you could fit a trip to New York into your limited eight hour P-day.
Sister P: Thank you for having me, Kelly and Michael.
Kelly: As many of you know, we live in a world with varying religious beliefs. People don't have the same religious devotion that individuals had in previous decades. We wanted to get a little insight on prayer and the importance of it in our daily lives. Sister P, what is the purpose of prayer?
Sister P: Prayer is open communication with our Heavenly Father. We pray for a plethora of reasons. We pray to express gratitude, to ask for blessings, to talk about our problems, to share excitement, to vent frustration, to discuss our day, and to ask questions. Prayer is a lot like writing in a journal except someone is listening on the other side and answers. We pray because Heavenly Father has asked us to communicate with him. Prayer isn't just for prophets, apostles, pastors, or individuals of elevated spirituality. Prayer is for every member of the human family. Do you talk to your dad, Michael?
Michael: I definitely do.
Sister P: Do your siblings talk to your dad?
Michael: They do.
Sister P: Even when they were in trouble or felt like a disappointment?
Michael: Yes. We have all always talked to our dad no matter where we were in life.
Sister P: Prayer works the same way. Heavenly Father always wants to share in the ups and downs of our life and the most effective way of divine communication is prayer.
Kelly: Now that we better understand why prayer is important, how do we do it?
Sister P: Prayer is a lot more simple than people make it out to be. I want you to imagine your mom cooking dinner in the kitchen while you're practicing piano in another room. Your microwave timer is set for the half an hour you have to practice and you want to know how many minutes you have left. You can yell, "HOW MANY MINUTES DO I HAVE LEFT?" and your mom may not acknowledge you. She is really getting into her food processor. She assumes that you're yelling at one of your brothers or at your incapable hands that keep missing G sharp. If you yelled, "MOOOOOOOOOM" first though she probably will listen. After you have her attention you can ask how many minutes are left on the microwave timer and then grumble as you play through your songs one more time. Like our mom in this story, our Heavenly Father is a very busy man. We have to address him before we start our prayer, so we start every prayer with "Dear Heavenly Father". We then fill our prayer with the thoughts of our heart. I often start by listing things I am grateful for and thanking Heavenly Father for the blessings in my life. After I have done this I go on to tell him about the hardships I am enduring and ask for assistance in bearing the burdens of life. I will often ask for specific blessings for myself and those I care about as well. After I have said everything I want to say, I close my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ and end with "Amen".
Kelly: So to re-cap, you say "Dear Heavenly Father," insert whatever you please, and end with "I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen".
Sister P: Yes. Perfect. It's a lot like an Oreo too. You always have your two cookies; your address to Heavenly Father and your closing in the name of Christ, but you can change up the filling. If you're having a double stuff kind of day then add a bit more fluff. You can also mix it up with a mint flavored prayer or my favorite, birthday cake filling.
Michael: Sister Poppe, thank you so much for meeting with us today. You have enlightened our minds and lifted our spirits (okay, maybe I imagined that Michael said the last sentence).
Sister P: Thank you. Send Regis my best.
[As Sister Poppe leaves an alligator is brought on stage in preparation for the wife of the late Steve Irwin]
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