Week 11 Focus – Prayer

The scriptures are clear on our responsibilities concerning prayer. Repeatedly we are admonished to "pray always," that Satan will not gain power over us and tempt us beyond our ability to resist.
One of my favorite scriptures on prayer can be found in Alma 37:37
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 might watch over you in you sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
These are blessings that we all yearn for, not only for ourselves but also for our families.

I love how the Bible dictionary defines prayer:
As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.
The Savior always sets us an example and a pattern We learn two important lessons about prayer from the Savior's experience in Gethsemane. First, following his prayer we are told that an angel appeared unto him, strengthening him. Sometimes when we wish for a certain situation to be resolved or made right or prevent it from happening, it is in our own best interest to be blessed instead with peace or understanding or additional knowledge or comfort or courage or increased faith or strength to bear up to our challenges. Our Heavenly Father who is all-knowing, all-wise, and who loves us very much, will always answer our prayers, but perhaps not as we would wish in the moment. Remembering only our mortal existence, we sometimes fail to see things in an eternal perspective. The second thing we learn from Christ's prayer in Gethsemane is that he prayed, "Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42.) What a lesson for those of us who desire to be Christlike. Christ desired to do the Father's will. Even in the premortal life we have record of Christ, the Beloved Son, saying, "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." (Moses 4:2.)
Following his address at the Sermon on the Mount (and the similar discourse given to the Nephites), the Savior taught the disciples how to pray and concluded by giving them an example that has come to be known as the Lord's Prayer. In both instances, the disciples were instructed to pray to their Father "who art in heaven" and to pray that "thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:9-10; 3 Nephi 9:10.)
Often it is as we commune with our Heavenly Father through prayer that things become clear in our own minds. As we commune with him and seek to have his will done in our lives, we take time to reflect on the counsel and instruction he has already given us through the scriptures. In fact, Christ tells us that when "my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will , and it shall be done unto you."(John 15:7.) The Lord told Nephi, son of Helaman, that because "thou . . . hast not sought thine own life, but has sought my will," whatever he asked would be done. Nephi knew the Lord's will and the Lord knew Nephi. He knew that Nephi would "not ask that which is contrary to my will." (Helaman 10:4-5. It is our responsibility then to learn the what the will of the Father is for each of us individually. Perhaps that is why Nephi told us to "feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." He also taught us that the Spirit can teach us to pray. (2 Nephi 32:3, 8.) This idea is reinforced in a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith: "He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God." (D&C 46:30.) So perhaps a good exercise for us would be that after we have expressed our gratitude for our many blessings would be to ask the Father to bless us with the Holy Ghost that we might know what we should pray for. Paul taught the importance of praying with the spirit, "We know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Romans 8:26.)
"Perfect prayer is offered to God the Eternal Father, in the name of his Only Begotten Son, by the power of the Holy Ghost. Most of us are well aware that God the Father is the ultimate object of our worship and that our prayers should be directed to him. And we know that we are to pray to Father in the name of the Son. But perhaps we are not quite so familiar with the idea that our prayers, in order to meet the divine standard, should be prompted, guided, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. In other words, prayers should be carried out under the direction of the third member of the Godhead. “He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh” (D&C 46:30). “And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done. But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask” (D&C 50:29–30 But we generally are unable to discern what is most critical in our lives, what thoughts and feelings and yearnings lie deep within our soul and are not readily accessible to the conscious mind. We need help. We need mediation. And that is where the Comforter, the Revelator, comes in. The Holy Ghost can, if we are open and teachable and patient, make known to us the things of greatest import, the things upon which God would have us ponder and reflect and pray over. If we will be still, if we will be quiet, if we will be attentive, if we will be sensitive during and after our prayer, we may find our words reaching beyond our thoughts, just as occurred in the New World during the visit of the risen Lord to the Nephites: “And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the Father, he came unto his disciples, and behold, they did still continue, without ceasing, to pray unto him; and they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire” (3 Nephi 19:24). What a joy to have the Lord inspire us in how we should pray and what words we should speak! Prayer thereby becomes not only petitionary but marvelously instructive, for we often learn something from what we find ourselves saying. Can we see that in this way prayer becomes a major avenue of revelation? Can we see how prayer can open us to the mind of God? Can we fathom the abiding joy that settles upon the heart as our Lord and God reveals himself to us and reveals us to ourselves? As Truman G. Madsen wisely wrote many years ago: “One begins mortality with the veil drawn, but slowly he is moved to penetrate the veil within himself. He is, in time, led to seek the ‘holy of holies’ within the temple of his own being.” Do we grasp what sweet privileges can come to the Saints of the Most High when they slow down, pause, reflect, and listen in their prayers? Inspired prayer entails speaking, listening, conversing, communing. Prayer in the Spirit is an entrance, a passageway, to life in the Spirit." (Robert Millet)
We must learn that answers to our prayers are always given in our best interests. A loving Heavenly Father responds to his children in ways that are best for them and for their growth. The scriptures tell us that he will give us that thing "which is right" (3 Nephi 18:19) and "that is expedient for [us]" (D&C 88:64). “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10; D&C 101:16) is pretty important counsel to us.
I have always loved the story of Amanda Smith. This incident took place following the massacre at Haun's Mill in October 1838. Many had been brutally killed, but Amanda survived and returned to the scene in search of her husband and three sons. From a distance she saw one of her older sons carrying a younger brother and she cried out, "Oh! My Alma is dead!" Her son replied, "No, mother, I think Alma is not dead. But father and brother Sardius are killed." Later Amanda was to record in her journal:
What an answer was this to appall me! My husband and son murdered; another little son seemingly mortally wounded; and perhaps before the dreadful night should pass the murderers would return and complete their work!
But I could not weep then. The fountain of tears was dry; the heart overburdened with its calamity, and all the mother's sense absorbed in its anxiety for the precious boy which God alone could save by his miraculous aid.
The entire hip joint of my wounded boy had been shot away. Flesh, hip bone, joint and all had been ploughed out from the muzzle of the gun which the ruffian placed to the child's hip through the logs of the shop and deliberately fired.
We laid little Alma on a bed in our tent and I examined the wound. It was a ghastly sight. I knew not what to do. It was night now. . . .
The women were sobbing, in the greatest anguish of spirit; the children were crying loudly with fear and grief at the loss of fathers and brothers; the dogs howled over their dead masters and the cattle were terrified with the scent of the blood of the murdered.
Yet was I there, all that long, dreadful night, with my dead and my wounded, and none but God as our physician and help. Amanda, in her anguish, cried to her Heavenly Father as might a child in trouble cry to her earthly father. Her cry for help was simple, short, and to the point. From her faithful, believing heart she cried, "Oh my Heavenly Father, what shall I do? Thou seest my poor wounded boy and knowest my inexperience. Oh Heavenly Father, direct me what to do!" Immediately she received an answer and was directed as if by a voice.
Nearby was a slippery-elm tree. From this I was told to make a slippery-elm poultice and fill the wound with it. . . . I removed the wounded boy to a house, some distance off the next day, and dressed his hip; the Lord directing me as before. I was reminded that in my husband's trunk there was a bottle of balsam. This I poured into the wound, greatly soothing Alma's pain. . . .
So Alma laid on his face for five weeks, until he was entirely recovered—a flexible gristle having grown in place of the missing joint and socket, which remains to this day a marvel to physicians. (The Women of Mormondom, pages 122-128.)
I believe that one of the "keys" to our prayers is to remember that we are praying to our Heavenly Father who loves us and wants the best for us. The more we become familiar with his power, his knowledge, and his ways, the more we will desire to seek to do his will. Then whatever our challenge or adversity may be, we will receive from him all that is needed in order for us to "go forth in the strength of the Lord."

There are many scriptures about prayer. All are instructive. They help us better understand prayer and how to pray, and give us examples of those who prayed in a variety of situations and circumstances. This week I invite you to search them out. Evaluate how you pray and determine to apply these principles to your prayers so that the Lord can better direct your life and the lives of your families.