What is a PLOG? It's a Blog about Prayer. I want to have a conversation about prayer, and I invite you to join me.
A common human phenomenon is to feel the need to reach out to something greater than ourselves in the universe. Prayer is a part of most religions and is even practiced by many with no religion at all. I believe in God, and I believe God hears every prayer, regardless of the form, the language, the posture, or the purpose. God wants to hear from His children, and He will accept that communication any way He can get it.
In particular, however, as a Christian, I focus on Christian prayer as taught by Jesus Christ--communication with our Father in Heaven. And more particularly, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I study the sacred writings about prayer found not just in the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) but in the full cannon of revealed scripture: The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The restored Church of Jesus Christ contains the fullness of the Gospel, and when we pull together the teachings of these four books, we get a fullness of the doctrine of prayer.
The scriptures are the handbook for living a spiritual life, and those scriptures include many valuable and powerful lessons about prayer. In my PLOG, I will explore a sampling of the scriptural instructions on prayer. Each post will begin with a verse of scripture. I will then share my insights on what the verse teaches about an aspect of prayer. I then invite your feelings and ideas as well. Together, we can build each other and strengthen our faith in prayer.
I offer no academic credentials and claim no authority to discourse on any religious topic beyond my own personal study, faith, and experience. Nothing I write should be construed as official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am not a theology student, nor have I attended any notable institutions of higher learning to earn a degree in religious studies. Like many Christian believers, perhaps like you, I attended worship services and Sunday school, seek out knowledgeable authors, speakers, and commentators, and I read the scriptures. And like every child of God, I have the Light of Christ to guide my reading and studying. And one more thing--as a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ, I have the gift of the Holy Ghost to teach me.
What I have learned, I have learned for myself and not for another. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to share what I have learned. When God gives us a gift, I believe He expects us to share it. The scriptures are a gift, as are the insights we gain from them. I share with the world what I know in the hopes that an insight or idea might spark a desire in another person to go find out for themselves.
And one last thing. I am not done learning, about prayer or about anything else. What I write here are not facts, either for me or for anyone else. They are merely stepping stones to more and more truth. Someday in the Hereafter we'll know it all. We will see as we are seen, and all mysteries will be revealed. For now, we grope our way through mortality, and if we are lucky, we can hold each other's hands and light a little candle along the way. Please share my candle.
May we pray for each other as we go!
