Jesus commends prayer. This is not given as a commandment, but as an important aspect of their religious life. Prayer would open the communication between the person and God. In this case, the declaration that they should pray was directed to all, but then also indicated that “so shall ye pray in my church.” The great prayer that they heard from Jesus was the clearest model, although the Sermon at the Temple also provided instructions on prayer.
Prayer was to be both individual and communal, and in both cases was to be done to be heard of God rather than of men. The Nephites had long known to pray, so this was not a new commandment. In Alma 33:3–11, Alma commends the words of Zenos as a model for prayer. Jesus was indicating that the need for prayer had not been fulfilled, even thou the law of Moses had been.