3
Nephi 1:11
Power
of Prayer
What
11 And
it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the
earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea,
those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the
tradition of their fathers.
Why
Nephi
prayed mightily because he was sorry for the wicked who would not
believe and he especially feared that they were going to destroy the
righteous because of their beliefs.
Pattern
Doctrine and Covenants 90:1
1
Thus saith the Lord, verily, verily I say unto you my son, thy sins
are forgiven thee, according to thy petition, for thy prayers and
the prayers of thy
brethren have come up into my ears.
Mosiah 27:14
14
And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of
his people, and also the prayers of
his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much
faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge
of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince
thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of
his servants might be answered according to their faith.
Mormon 5:21
21
And also the Lord will remember the prayers of
the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them.
Romans 12:12
12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant
in prayer;
Doctrine and Covenants 103:36
36
All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your
diligence, faithfulness, and prayersof
faith.
1 Timothy 2:1
1
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
Job 22:27
27
Thou shalt make thy prayer unto
him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
1 Peter 3:12
12
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are
open unto their prayers:
but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
Ephesians 6:18
18
Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Christ
3 Nephi 19:8
8
And when they had ministered those same words which Jesus had
spoken—nothing varying from the words which Jesus had
spoken—behold, they knelt again and prayed to
the Father in the name of Jesus.
3 Nephi 20:31
31
And they shall believe in me, that I am JesusChrist,
the Son of God, and shall pray unto
the Father in my name.
Conference
Of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
How to Pray
Jesus
taught us how.4 We
pray to our Heavenly Father,5 in
the name of Jesus Christ,6 by
the power of the Holy Ghost.7 This
is the “true order of prayer,”8 in
contrast to “vain repetitions”9 or
recitations given to “be seen of men.”10
Jesus
revealed that we pray to a wise Father who knows what things we have
need of, before we ask Him.11
Mormon
taught his son, Moroni, that we should pray “with all the energy of
heart.”12 Nephi
exclaimed, “I pray continually for [my people] by day, and mine
eyes water my pillow by night, … and I cry unto my God in faith,
and I know that he will hear my cry.”13
The
sweet power of prayer can be intensified by fasting, on occasion,
when appropriate to a particular need.14
Prayers
can be offered even in silence. One can think a
prayer, especially when words would interfere.15 We
often kneel to pray; we may stand or be seated.16 Physical
position is less important than is spiritual submission to God.
When to Pray
When
should we pray? The Lord said, “Search diligently, pray always, and
be believing, and all things shall work together for your good.”19
Alma
said, “Counsel with the Lord in all thy
doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down
at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your
sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of
thanks unto God.”20
We
pray privately, with our families regularly, at mealtime, and in
daily activities. Simply summarized, we are a praying people.
Inquire of the Lord
When
we pray, we should not presume to give counsel but should inquire of
the Lord24 and
hearken to His counsel.25 Joseph
Smith’s first prayer ushered in the Restoration of the gospel.26 In
1833, he received the Word of Wisdom after asking the Lord for
counsel.27 The
revelation on the priesthood received in 1978 by President Spencer W.
Kimball came after intense inquiry.28 Inspiration
regarding the construction of smaller temples came after the
pondering of President Gordon B. Hinckley.29
Answers to Prayers
Not
all of our prayers will be answered as we might wish. Occasionally
the answer will be no. We should not be surprised. Loving mortal
parents do not say yes to every request of their children.30
We
should pray in accord with the will of our Heavenly Father.32 He
wants to test us, to strengthen us, and to help us achieve our full
potential. When the Prophet Joseph Smith was held in Liberty Jail, he
pled for relief. His prayers were answered with an explanation: “All
these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy
good.”33
Apply
Prayer
can always be improved upon, Let us analyze how we can better pray
with more conviction and faith .
I
have a testimony of prayer and fasting and of the blessings we can
receive. We cannot take away another's agency but we can pray that
they will make better choices. We can pray for protection for
ourselves and guidance. How will I live my life that I may be a
better servant to God? How can I help others to do what is right?
What would the Lord have me do? I can ask for blessings upon others
and especially those I know and love. I can see the answers to those
prayers but I cannot control what other's do, only influence them and
ask sometimes for divine intervention. Every prayer should close with
“thy will be done” if not, we might get the very thing we asked
for even if it is the wrong thing.
Pray
for mercy and forgiveness.
Always
remember to express gratitude for the Savior and for all the
blessings we receive. Gratitude is the stuff happiness is made of.
Hymns
140-did
You Think To Pray
144-
Secret Prayer
Children
12
A Child's Prayer
14-I
Pray In Faith
No comments:
Post a Comment