Reach The Heavens
Lately, I've been captivated by the concept of power in prayer. Everything seems to be inviting me to pray, to commune with the Divine, to elevate my mind to a holier realm, to be continually aware of my immense dependence on Christ and His enduring companionship with me. Pleas for guidance and psalms of gratitude fill my mind as I remember that every moment and every breath is made more profound and rich by dedicating it to God. Just as "there is nothing so bad that whining about it won't make it worse", so too is there nothing so good (or bad) that involving God won't make it better.
After his near death experience, Jeffery Holland said that the main take away from that ordeal was to pray more. As an apostle of God, he fancied himself quite adept at praying continually — yet the admonition was that his efforts were not sufficient, there was more he could yet offer the Lord. He said of this experience, "However much you pray, pray more. However hard you pray, pray harder." We are, it seems, meant to take the Lord literally when he says to "pray without ceasing", to "look unto [Him] in every thought", and to have our hearts "drawn out in prayer continually".
In Alma 37:36 we read, "Cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. 37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good.."
It's the latter part of Holland's quote that is more of a struggle for me to attain and internalize. Praying more often, while a challenge, is not as daunting as praying harder, with more fervency, with true ardent emotion. Not only is it more difficult, but I also have a worry that such prayers are bothersome to God if done too frequently. I don't want to annoy the Lord with my pleas. In my head, fervency can quickly slip into pestering, so I avoid it unless truly necessary. However, my mind has been repeatedly drawn to the Book of Mormon prophet Enos, who wrestled before God and "cried unto Him in mighty prayer and supplication for [his] own soul; and all the day long did [he] cry unto him; yea, and when the night came [he] did still raise [his] voice high that it reached the heavens." (Enos 1:4)
And it's not just Enos. Indeed, all of scripture is filled with stories of ardent supplication and heartfelt petitions for hours on end. So why am I hesitant to open my heart in such a way? I believe it to be a deception from Satan, as fear always is. There is a fine line between accepting the will of God however difficult, and not being humble or faithful enough to plead for relief. My propensity is to accept what is, believe that God already knows what I want and need, and therefore trust all will be made right in His timing. Which is absolutely true, but the overcorrection then leads to complacency, and I take a backseat in my own Becoming.
I don't believe this to be righteous, though it started out noble enough. It is my understanding that Heavenly Father would have us be active participants and co-creators with Him in the great story of our lives. We need to adopt that main character energy and partner with Christ to ensure the adventure is everything it needs to be for our ultimate progression. Sideline participation will not suffice. Half-hearted invocations will not move mountains. If we hold back our hearts for fear of bothering God, then they will remain broken, craven, and unproven. Our boldness stems from our personal relationship with the Savior. Our ability to handle plot twists and antagonists with equanimity comes solely from his power. We can only step into the role of hero in our story after we have made Him the Great Hero of our lives.
"Pray always that you may come off conquerer.." (D&C 10:5) Conquerer. What would that look like, to conquer our adversity? How often do we prolong our suffering because we are lackluster in our prayers? How much unnecessary strife do we endure because of the vapidity of our invocations? The Lord has given us a veritable abundance of evidence that He will deliver us if we take Him seriously when He commands us to pray constantly. Do we truly believe Christ when he assures us he is mighty to save? Life will give us ample opportunity to demonstrate our answer. Remember, too, the Bible dictionary definition of prayer: “The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.” So much is there for the taking if we will but ask. God doesn’t hold out on us — we hold out on ourselves by having limited ideas of what is possible.
That's not to suppose that all troubles will suddenly disappear, but it is to expect that miracles will abound — whether internally or externally, it matters not. Maybe the miracle isn't the dissolution of crisis, but the evolution of the person who offered the prayer. Maybe the miracle is you. Maybe the consequence of praying harder and more often is an elevation in consciousness. And if individuals, families, communities, and societies experience an elevation in consciousness, what then, would the miracle be? Only God knows. But I sure hope I am around to see it.
