We have all had times in our lives when stress has driven us to exhaustion, and at night, anything standing in the way of collapsing into bed seems daunting. Many times at family prayer, my children and wife would get up and tip toe quietly away, leaving me sleeping at the bedside on my knees. At times I was the one offering the prayer! I would wake up hours later and wearily climb into bed, sore knees and all.
Kneeling at the bedside in prayer is a traditional and accepted way of submitting ourselves to God and His will for us. I have difficulty kneeling at the bedside for prayer without remembering those hard times, and my inability to offer or even conduct a simple nightly prayer with my family. Rather than dredge up those memories on a nightly basis, I have taken to prayer at different times during the day: when on a walk, cooking a simple meal, working in the garden or performing some other household task. At times, it seems that the Lord is the silent partner in the conversation, but it is a conversation.
From time to time I look not just what I am praying, but how I am praying, and how effective those prayers seem to be. Not in the sense that I see immediate results, but effective in how my prayers are changing my heart and bringing me closer to Him.
Latter-Day Saints 