Essential

The kingdom of Judah was in dire trouble in the days of the prophet Joel. Severe drought and a plague of locusts threatened to wipe the people out. As the Lord's mouthpiece in this time of emergency, Joel delivered the message of repentance and assured the people of God's blessing. He summarized his call to repentance with these comforting words:

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

-Joel 2:32

Prayer is essential to deliverance from sin for salvation. Prayer reminds us of our constant reliance on God and our Savior. It draws us to the source of our deliverance and refreshes our hope of rescue. On those days when we feel buried by our trials, it reminds us of both our Advocate and our true Judge. And on those days when we think we have the world by the tail, it reminds us from whom our blessings come and the source of our comfort.

Chariots of Fire

The king of Syria was on the warpath to conquer Israel, but the Prophet Elisha thwarted his every strategy by receiving revelation and telling the king of Israel about the Syrian battle plans. At first, the king of Syria thought a spy in his camp was leaking his plans to the Israelites. A servant of the king, however, knew the reputation of Elisha and rightly explained how the Israelite army learned of the king's plans. 

Determined to end Israel's revelatory advantage, the king of Syria sent "a great host" to capture Elisha. The Syrian army surrounded the city of Dothan, where Elisha lived with his young servant. The servant arose in the morning to begin his daily duties and saw the menacing army arrayed on the hills about the city. He fled back into the house, aroused Elisha, and said, paraphrasing, "Holy smokes! What are we going to do now?"

The wise prophet calmed the young man's natural fears with the famous words, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
--2 Kings 6:17

Elisha then prayed and asked the Lord to smite the Syrians with blindness, which the Lord promptly did. Elisha offered to lead the sightless and frightened Syrians to safety. They followed him, and he brought them into the capital city of Northern Israel. The Lord returned their sight, and when they saw their predicament, they promptly surrendered.

Of this account in the Old Testament Priscilla Shirer wrote: 

"Prayer made [the servant] aware of all the resources and strength and protection that God had already placed on their side. Without this renewed perspective he was already defeated before the battle had even begun . . . before the day had even started. That’s what the enemy wants. He wants you living in a state of defeat. Your defenses down. Your resolve weak and flimsy. Surrendering to an army of insecurities and misdiagnosis instead of courageously thriving in the sophisticated security of your identity in Christ."

The devil is ever on the offensive, plotting daily his strategies to attack our weaknesses and defeat our desires for righteousness. But God does not leave us defenseless. Though we may be surrounded, He has not left us alone. How important our prayers are in the morning to show us not only the enemy but also the strength of the Lord surrounding us! They that be with us are always more than they that be with them. We just need to pray to see the truth of our situation. Our mountains are always full of horses and chariots of fire. God will never abandon us. But we must pray to have eyes to see what God is doing for us every day.

God Waits

I want to be hopeful and helpful in what I write, but I need to be honest, too. I often feel far from the Lord. The heavens are like brass more often than I care to admit. I wonder what's wrong, and this scripture comes to mind:

 The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
-- Proverbs 15:29

I believe God does not love His disobedient children less, but He is far from them because they have removed themselves from Him. He is always in the same place. Our nearness to Him is our choice and our decision, not His. He is ever available and willing to listen. 

So what is wrong? He does not hear the prayers of the wicked because they do not pray. I am guilty and wicked when I say prayers but do not pray. I speak, but I do not listen for an answer. I am in a hurry when the Lord wants to take His time. 

I also believe, however, in the very moment that a disobedient, wayward, prodigal child turns to the Father in sincerity and genuine humility, he is righteous in that moment, and God hears his prayer. God is merciful and forgives over and over again. Perhaps because He is so full of patience and long-suffering, He wants me to learn a little patience, too. So, He waits for me to come to myself, like the prodigal son that I am, and then come to Him. Oh, how grateful I am that He never wearies and never gives up. I'm grateful God waits.

Access to God

The prophet Jeremiah wrote these words from the Lord to an apostate and conquered Israel to give them hope that their days of slavery in Babylon would come to an end: 

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
--Jeremiah 29:13

Seventy years later, when the people of Israel had repented and truly sought the Lord, their prayers were heard, and they were released from captivity to return to Jerusalem.

Prayer gives us access to God.It is how we seek and search for Him. And His promise is that when we seek Him, we will find Him. He will not hide Himself from us. 

Our seeking, however, cannot be casual or occasional or whimsical. A half-hearted search will yield nothing. We rarely just stumble upon God while we are going about our daily business. He reveals Himself only when we have set our hearts upon Him. He is not a part-time God, and He is not looking for part-time disciples. He wants more than our words, our money, or even our time. He wants our hearts, our affections, our whole-souled attention. Because He knows only a sincere and determined seeker will gain the full benefit of His grace. He wants to save and exalt us, and that requires the whole person, body, mind, and heart. When we are baptized, we don't just baptize the foot, the hand, or the head: we are baptized completely, every part, fully immersed. Not a strand of hair or the tip of a big toe can remain above the water. We must be all in. 

And so it is with seeking the Lord, and so it must be with prayer. We must be all in with God, fully invested in our search, totally absorbed in our seeking. Only when our heart and soul are fully involved will we realize the sure and glorious promise that God can be found. 

As Elder Russell M. Nelson taught the brethren of the priesthood in General Conference a few years ago:
"Now, if all of this sounds excessive, please consider how different our relationships with our wife, children, and associates at work would be if we were as concerned about gaining priesthood power as we are in progressing at work or increasing the balance in our bank account. If we will humbly present ourselves before the Lord and ask Him to teach us, He will show us how to increase our access to His power" (see "The Price of Priesthood Power", General Conference, April 2016).

It is a challenge of mortality to be totally focused all the time. Our bodies, the people around us, and the temporal demands of daily living require our attention, too. Jesus did not sequester Himself in a monastery to pray every minute of every day. He went about among the people doing good, and God expects no less of us. Nevertheless, Christ's heart was always focused on the Father and His will, even in the mundane tasks of daily living. 

God wants us to do the same. He doesn't want us to stop living, but He wants us to live for Him. Prayer is the key, the secret sauce, to living a God-directed life. When we seek Him first and foremost, we find Him, and once we find Him and let Him in, He can direct is and guide us for good, indeed for the most good. 

The Thin Veil of the Temple

The Prophet Isaiah taught ancient Israel that the temple is a house of prayer.

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
--Isaiah 56:7

Jesus quoted this very scripture when He drove the money changers from the temple in Jerusalem (see Matthew 21:17). The temple is God's figurative dwelling place, His house, and He invites us into His house to be close to Him.

We often hear the expression "to call upon the the Lord" as a synonym for prayer. A more literal fulfillment of "calling upon God" is to pay Him a visit in His house. The modern temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are designed to help us appreciate how close we can draw to the Lord and He to us. Only a thin veil symbolically separates us from His presence. Surely in this hallowed place, made sacred by our repentance and worship, and accepted by God, we should be able to communicate freely with the Lord.

All distractions are removed; all worldly accoutrements are put away; pride, position, power, and fame are obliterated. If we are ever in a position to talk to God, it is in the temple.

And because we are in His house, we have subjected ourselves to His influence, aligned ourselves with His will, and opened ourselves to receive what He has to offer. When we approach the temple thoughtfully, with real intent and full expectations, God inclines His ear to our lips and His heart to our hearts. He is ready to answer because we have made the extra effort to prepare ourselves to listen.

The temple is a unique conduit to heaven. The expanse of the universe that separates us from God's holy throne folds in on itself at the temple, and the Father and Son are very near in these holy places. It is a privilege, honor and gift to pray in the temple.

When the temples are again open and available, may we find ourselves in those sacred precincts as our humble and joyful prayers penetrate the thinnest of veils.