BOOK OF MORMON: DAY 75: PRAY ALWAYS

Today’s Reading: 2 Nephi 32:7-9

   8 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.

A few years ago, my youngest daughter went through a period of constant nightmares that just never seemed to end.  Night after night she resisted going to bed, pleading for me to stay, and finding a new excuse to drag out the bedtime process.  Despite my growing impatience, those big brown eyes got to me every time.  I tried reasoning with her, I left extra lights on, and we nightly prayed at her bedside asking for relief, but there came no change.  

After some time, I resigned to finding some consolation, despite her lack of relief, in the fact that this was a phase that she would eventually outgrow.  I even patted myself on the back for the mom-win that had come out of this small trial:  “At least she’s learning to look to prayer in her hard times, “ I thought to myself.

She approached me one day with pure satisfaction.  “Mom, I didn’t have any nightmares last night!”  I was thrilled for her.  Finally!  As I began to ask her more about it, she described what could only be interpreted as pure revelation.  She felt the idea come to her in her heart and mind that she should change her prayer.  Instead of asking for this trial to be removed, she instead felt prompted to ask for ideas on how to overcome it.  She took this direction to heart, received a specific idea on what to do, and now found herself nightmare-free all on her very own.

I was pleased, shocked, and humbled all at once.  It was a beautiful reminder that not only does the Spirit beckon us to reach out to our Father in prayer, but that we can also be tutored by the Spirit in how to pray.  We must start with a desire, be filled with belief, and then live and act with expectation.  That’s what becoming “as a little child” looks like in action.  Being willing to ask, being teachable, and then acting with confidence and courage were modeled to me by my own child that day, and oh how sweet to be taught by those big brown eyes.parentchild

 

 

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    • Thanks, Klea! I had a few other experiences that I wanted to share, but this particular one was what the Spirit said needed sharing. I love, LOVE, this series and all of the efforts that we put into making this happen. Such a blessing!