Yesterday, I talked about some of the most basic activities in the Church to help us stay on the Covenant Path. One was to feast on the words of Christ and another was to pray always. Together, these two, simple things invite the Spirit to inspire and guide us and without the Spirit, we can in no way endure to the end.
Nephi sensed that his people were not faithfully following this counsel. He wrote: And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me . . . For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray . . . (32: 8)
It seems as if we must pray to have the Spirit and then listen to the Spirit when it prompts us to pray. I have found that when I feel alienated and separated from the Spirit, it is tempting not to pray. It is if some unseen voice is saying, "You're not worthy." I realize from reading Nephi that this is exactly what is happening. . . . for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. (32: 8) God will never discourage us from praying by telling us we are not worthy to pray. When I feel discouraged or unworthy, that is the time I need to pray the most, even if I don't know the words to pray, He can hear my heart.
Two things that quench our desire to pray are sin and discouragement. There are times in all of our lives when we have felt too discouraged or unworthy to pray. That is when we need to pray the most. Oswald Chambers, and oft' quoted Scottish theologian once advised us to pray by focusing on the Lord and not upon our sins or difficultites. God is never going to teach us not to pray. When I feel this way, I remember the spirit which gives this "advice" is not from God but from the adversary. This deceiver knows if he can disconnect us from God, we become a target for his wrath. Not praying is a dangerous path to take for that reason.
When should we pray? Always! Again, Nephi advised: But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; . . . (32: 9) You don't have to wait until you can kneel at your bedside. You can reach out to God at any time and in any place. Here are just a few times when I called upon God in non-kneeling prayer.
One day, as I was putting a load of diapers in the washing machine, my heart was troubled. I actually knelt by the washer and prayed. I shared that testimony with my Primary class and they were openly awed. They hadn't thought you could pray anywhere except by your bed or at the kitchen table.
I pray when I am ill, often from my sickbed. As it says: Jesus and germs are everywhere!
I often pray in my car as I am driving. Some of my best talks with God have been on a country road. I talk out loud so that I don't lose my train of thought. People driving by must think I am talking to myself. I'm not nuts: I'm talking to God.
I pray when I see beautiful things. I feel such gratitude that my heart swells in prayer without my even being aware that I am praying.
I pray when I see people I love suffer. There is no more helpless feeling that watching a loved one ill or dying. I find it easier to say "Let Go, Let God" for my own sufferings than it is for the suffering of someone I love. I find it difficult to stay humble and teachable, remembering that God is in control. Praying helps. C. S. Lewis said about prayer: "I pray because I can't help it. It just flows out of me. Prayer doesn't change God: it changes me."
I pray when I feel grief for sin. Grieving my own sin isn't easy or comfortable, but it is doable because I know that through Christ's atonement, I can get through all things. What is much harder for me is to watch a beloved making choices that lead him or her further and further away from God. I can encourage and bear testimony, but I cannot threaten, coerce, or force. Sometimes all I can do it to pray and keep loving him.
Prayer is the soul's sincere desire; spoken or unexpressed
The motion of a hidden fire; that trembles in the breat.
Prayer is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains to reach the majesty on high.
Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, the Christians native air
His watchword at the gates of death; he enters heav'n with prayer.
Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice, returning from his ways
While angels in their songs rejoice and cry, "Behold, he prays!
O thou by whom we come to God, the Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod; Lord, teach us how to pray.
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