8 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.
9 And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies.
10 But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them.
When the robbers came to battle, they dressed after the manner of robbers. They have their loins gird about with lambskin dyed in blood and their heads shorn. They dressed to make an impression on the Nephite armies. By the very way they looked, they wanted to strike fear into the hearts of the Nephites. They wanted them to give up before the battle even began.
In his book The Art of War, Sun Tzu states:
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
Often wicked and worldly influences are dressed to scare us long before we ever do battle with them. What influences or worldly concerns are consuming you, making you want to back out of the battle?
As I raise my three children and try and keep my marriage intact and happy, there are many influences that might cause me to fear. I don’t ever want fear to paralyze or panic me though. I never want to let the mere presence of evil influences throw me out of the battle unprepared. I do get scared sometimes and don’t always know the best course of action or what to say. But I have a secret weapon: prayer. Just as the Nephites in this chapter, prayer allows me to be prepared to meet and receive outside influences. As I pray, I can get ready, in the strength of the Lord, to meet them and not shrink. These influences do not need to surprise me or catch me off guard. They do not need to paralyze or cause me to fear. And no matter what worldly influences look or act like, through prayer, I can be prepared to receive them.
We are told this principle repeatedly throughout the scriptures:
“God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7),
“If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30)
This chapter is applicable to our days. We have many outside influences that might scare us or make us feel incapable. No matter what the enemy looks like that is approaching you, take heart. Pray to God for protection and He will give you strength to receive any challenge.
A lover of words, walking barefoot in the grass and kitchen dance parties, Patti is always ready for the next adventure. She lives in UT with her ninja husband and three small children who remind her that Jesus wants us to be kind and that storytime is the most important time of the day.