This week in our Pathway Institute class we studied Alma
30-35.
The scriptures that most stood out to me and impressed me
were Alma 34:17-28 where Alma teaches about prayer:
17…”Call upon his holy
name, that he would have mercy upon you
18. Yea, cry unto him
for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in
prayer unto him.
20. Cry unto him when
ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21. Cry unto him in
your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22. Yea, cry unto him
against the power of your enemies.
23. Yea, cry unto him
against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24. Cry unto him over
the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25. Cry over the
flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26. But this is not
all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and
in your wilderness.
27. Yea, and when you
do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him
continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around
you.
28. And now behold, my beloved brethren, I
say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these
things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and
afflicted, and impart of your substances, if ye have, to those who stand in
need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is
vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.
In a talk by Elder David A. Bednar entitled “Pray Always”,
he teaches,
“Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord
in all of our doings, as we express heartfelt gratitude, and as we pray for
others.”
He goes on to say that morning prayer is an important
element in the spiritual creation of each day…then we keep a prayer in our
heart during the course of the day for continued assistance and guidance…and at
the end of the day, we kneel again and report to our Heavenly Father,
review, repent, and express
heartfelt thanks. “Thus our
evening prayer builds upon and is a continuation of our morning prayer”. In this way our prayers are linked together across days to months to
years, and is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to “pray always”.
I remember reading Ether 2: 14 and the words having a deep impact on me.
14 And
it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the
brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space
of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him
because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord.
I was struck with how important it is to the Lord that
we communicate with him through the blessing of prayer. That it is a commandment. I also pondered on how unpleasant it
would be to be chastened by the Lord for the period of 3 hours.
Then in the following chapter, Ether 3:2 he is bringing
a possible solution to the problem of no light in the vessels before the Lord,
and at the bottom of the verse he says:
“…nevertheless,
O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from
thee we may receive according to our desires.”
Those words struck me hard because not only is it a
commandment to pray and call upon the Lord, but he wants us to receive according to our desires as
well. At the time I was going
through a difficult trial that seemed as unending as the waters the Jaredites
had to cross. I realized that I
was willing to submit to the Lord's will, but was guilty of not asking Him for
help with my trial. It would be as
if the Jaredites said, “Ok we will
cross the waters, you have given us the essentials of transportation and air
within to breath, but have not given us a way for light so we will submit to
thy will and traverse the seas in darkness.” How foolish that would be, and how foolish I was being. I felt an outpouring of love to know
that the Lord wanted to help me, and wanted me to receive the righteous desires
of my heart, and I will be forever grateful for that enlightenment.
I am so
grateful for the commandment to pray, to pray always, in all places, and over
all things. I am so very grateful for the many answers to my prayers that I
have received, and desires of my heart, that I have been blessed with. I love my Heavenly Father, and His Son my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ.
