2 Nephi 32:8-9
"And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."
It is sad to me how many people don't feel like they can pray. I've heard a lot of reasons, "I'd be hypocritical," "He doesn't want to hear from me" " He doesn't listen"... The list of excuses goes on, yet all are false. God wants to hear from us, we are His children! Anytime you feel like you can't or shouldn't pray, I would council you to get on your knees. The Adversary tries hard to get you to not pray, don't let him win!
Elder Vomocil, I like what you said about this scripture and I have often thought about it myself. One thing that sticks out to me is "pray always, and not faint;" What does that mean? I have had people tell me that the reason they don't pray as often is because they run out of things to say, they already prayed for that, I am not feeling anything or getting answers. Well, I read something in a missionary's apartment that said something like: "Its not about the duration of your prayers but its the desires and depth of them" I prob got it totally wrong but you know what I'm saying. Prayers are not to be in rote form, ever, but they are to be as if God were kneeling there next to you and whispering in your ear the things he wants you to know. We should never forget the importance of being thoughtful, patient, and being a good listener during our prayers. He wants to communicate with us.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had taken heed to this scripture more when I was growing up. I could have saved myself from a lot of heartache and trouble had I called upon the help and support of our loving Heavenly Father in times of loneliness and despair. When we don't pray all we are doing is hurting ourselves. We really can't afford to go a day without talking to Him.
ReplyDeleteI know that God is always there to help us no matter what our challenges are. He is our Heavenly Father, and as such loves us more then we can understand. Never think you can't ask Him for help, comfort, and strength. He is always listening.