Lilypie Pregnancy tickers

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Putting it all together, Pathway Institute assignment:


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. 

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