Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed
The motion of a hidden fire
The words of that familiar hymn have been impressed upon my mind this week. From the dawn of creation prayer has given all of God's children direct access to Him. Prayers do not go through some intermediary like the Virgin Mary, the Savior Jesus Christ, or the beads of a rosary. Prayers are direct communication with our Heavenly Father, even the Great Elohim. We pray to God the Father in the name of God the Son, by the power of God the Holy Ghost. Prayer is the universal language between God and His children. It matters not what color our skin, which nationality we claim or which denomination. The clean, the unclean, the rich, the poor, the mighty and the humble all have an open invitation to pray. All that is necessary is the desire to reach out to our Higher Power for help, anytime, anywhere, and in whatever circumstance we find ourselves.
It was the Apostle Paul who reminded us:
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 3:16, emphasis mine).
Paul has admonished us to have faith in the perfection of Christ's atoning sacrifice for all His Father's children in these words:
"For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
"Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
"For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted." (Hebrews 2:16-18).
The Book of Mormon prophet Alma assures us, speaking of Christ's mortal ministry:
"And he shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
"And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:11-12).
The Greek equivalent of "succor" is literally "to run quickly to help." Christ descended below all things as a mortal so He would know HOW to succor us when we encountered situations in which we need to cry out in our desperation for help.
Of course, prayer is also a way in which we can thank our Heavenly Father for all our blessings in acknowledgement of His abundant blessings we enjoy during our sojourn in mortality. There are so many people who ignore this facet of the diamond of prayer. It's easier perhaps to cry out in need when things are going badly, but much harder to remember God in the days of our abundance and prosperity. The Book of Mormon is replete with stories about those who turned to God in need, then forgot Him in the very moment they were blessed and turned away.
Try this experiment sometime. When you kneel to pray, spend your time on thanking Heavenly Father for all your blessings, and name them one by one. Don't simply go down your checklist of prayer requests, instead, confine yourself to acknowledging all the blessings you have observed in your life. See how long you can stay in the attitude of prayer. Then when you arise from your knees go about your day with a song in your heart and continue counting your blessings. I would hope you develop a new appreciation for all that God has done to bless you, and cease to view Him as a heavenly vending machine for blessings.
One of my contemporary heroes was always Hugh Nibley. Toward the end of his interview called Faith of An Observer, Nibley concluded that all he learned during his life (and it was a prodigious amount of knowledge) could be summarized into getting really good at two things: repentance and forgiveness. When it is most difficult to forgive another, focus on your blessings and the gifts you have received from Heavenly Father. The first gift He offered to all of us was the Light of Christ, then later the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Those are gifts of inestimable value to assist us on our quest for eternal life. When you focus on gratitude and offer back that gratitude in prayer, it will be much easier to repent of our failings and to forgive others of theirs.
"And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.
"And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need; both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.
"And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.
"And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments spotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.
"And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you according to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word.
"And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever. And thus I have spoken. Amen." (Alma 7:22-27).
Today our youngest grandson was blessed and given his name by his father Michael Litchfield in a home of his aunt on the shores of Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. The blessing was attended by only a hand-fold of relatives from among a huge extended family on both sides. How grateful we were today for the miracle of face-time technology that permitted us to listen in and watch remotely from many miles away. Nolan Michael Litchfield was blessed by his father in the authority of the Holy Priesthood, not merely prayed over, and it was a beautiful and powerful blessing.
Tonight, as we do every night, we will thank our Heavenly Father once again upon bended knees in prayer for the blessing of a righteous posterity. Truly we have been blessed abundantly, and we rejoice!
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