Prayer: it can be simple, or it can be miraculous. One prayer can change a person's life. One prayer can change the world.
I would like to write about the significance and power of prayer. In the Book of Mormon we find an example of how one man's sincere prayer with God started out of concern for his own salvation, and then became a great learning experience in humility and charity. It reads as follows:
"2 ...I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.
3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.
5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?
8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.
9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.
10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads.
11 And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites.
12 And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith." -Enos 1:2-12
Enos, like many of God's children on Earth over the centuries, learned how powerful prayer is through experience. He learned of the cleansing and comforting power that comes through prayer. He felt the love that God had for him. He even learned how we can receive an answer to our prayers through faith.
I would like to share an example from my own life about how prayer helped me to change for the better. When I was a teenager, like many my age, I was not exactly the most obedient child to my parents wishes. I had my struggles and my temptations in life. I had a few things that I knew I needed to change, and yet I continued to procrastinate the day of my repentance. One Sunday afternoon will forever stick out in my mind as a life altering moment that I experienced through prayer. I was sitting on a couch in the foyer of a church building in Las Vegas. I had arrived at church late, thus my sitting in the foyer. I was trying to listen to the talk that was being given through the building's speaker system, but I could not help but ponder on my situation in life. I felt an absence in my heart. I felt cold and miserable to be blunt. Just in that low moment I had a prompting from the Holy Ghost to go outside to the car and say a prayer. I tried to ignore it the first time, but then it came back stronger. I decided it would be best to comply. While I was sitting in the driver seat of the car with the door open, I began to quietly offer a sincere prayer about my feelings. I had hardly begun when I felt overwhelmed with emotion. I began to cry and thoughts of longing for forgiveness came into my heart and my mind. I bore my soul to God. I asked Him for forgiveness and committed to change my life and my actions. I felt a comforting peace. It was a peace that I recognized, but had not felt in a long time. I felt the love of my Father in Heaven through the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. That day was a turning point for me. It was all possible because of prayer.
There is another prayer that I would like to share before closing. This particular prayer was not one of my own. It was the prayer of an honest, sincere, and truth seeking 14 year old boy. Joseph Smith was living with his family in the State of New York in the early 1800's. He lived in a time of religious revival and excitement. He was placed in a position of serious thought. In his own words he described the events surrounding this particular time of his life. He said,
"5...there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country...
8 During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness...so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, ...to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.
11 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.'
12 Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know..." -Joseph Smith History 1:5-12
Joseph Smith recognized the need for an answer to his question. He recognized the prompting that he received from the Spirit to seek out his answer from God. In response to this, the young boy prayed. His experience from that prayer is one in a million. In his own words he stated:
"16...I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17...When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"
Of course I am not implying that every prayer will have with it the accompanying experience of Enos's prayer, or Joseph Smith's. However, I do know that the power of prayer is real. I know that our Heavenly Father listens to and answers our prayers. I can not begin to list the examples of this that I have experienced in my own life. I want everyone reading this to know that YOU have a Father in Heaven who loves you. He wants to hear from you, and He desires to help you in life. All you have to do is humble yourself enough to get on your knees and ask Him. I know that if you do, you will feel His love for you and see the difference in a life that comes with a personal relationship with God. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
