Open the Universe

Jesus taught this amazing principle and promise about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
--Matthew 7:7-8

With this promise echoing in my mind, I know everything of God's is available to me. It's up to me, though, to take the first step. I must ask, seek, and knock. I must learn how to approach the Father, trust Him, listen to Him, have faith in Him, and accept His will. 

Sounds easy, right? Well, it's not so easy when God doesn't seem approachable in the middle of a hard day or a sleepless night, when worry is overpowering and pain is unrelenting. It can be hard to trust a Father who allows suffering and sorrow, who apparently wants to polish me with 100-grit sandpaper. His voice, if He is speaking at all, can hardly penetrate my thick skull and ears tuned more to the world's shouts for attention than to the gossamer whispers of the Holy Spirit. Faith - the anchor of the soul - threatens to break loose in the storms that spring up like winter gales and beat on me with no care for my stamina or energy. And the divine Will runs so counter to my earthly logic that it boggles me.  

As the pounding and pummeling of life continues, driving me to my knees when standing gets too hard, I think of the joke, "The beatings will continue until morale improves." I wonder, is that what God is doing to me? Is He beating me until I finally learn to believe His promise?

I believe He hears every prayer, even my casual, mundane daily invocations. But while I may be satisfied with vain repetitions, He is not. He wants more from me, and so He gives me more - more trials, more challenges, more troubles, more afflictions, more pain, more suffering - more of everything that strips me of my expectations of life and leaves me raw and vulnerable and, dare I say, humble. And when I finally cry in genuine need, in total despair - in honest prayer - He answers. He sends the Comforter. He gives strength where there was none. He fans an ember of hope that was all but dead. Another day dawns, and life goes on. And I'm still here.

If I can ever quit trying to do things my way and let Him do things His way, the universe will open to me.

Use Not Vain Repetitions

Before giving the example we know as The Lord's Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, the most oft-repeated prayer in the Christian church, Jesus warned about repetitive prayers with these words:

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
--Matthew 6:7

Jesus loved to pray to communicate with His Father. It is written in several places that He went alone to pray. A few of His public prayers were recorded in the New Testament, and more of His prayers are found in the Book of Mormon. What I have learned from the above verse in particular about prayer is that to be effective, prayer must be heartfelt and meaningful. We may need to pray frequently and repeatedly as we seek a particular blessing or an important answer or as we face a long trial. Frequent, even constant, prayer is a balm to the soul. 

Prayers become vain (useless) repetitions, however, when we say the same things over and over without faith or real intent. We can find ourselves using vain and repetitious words and phrases if we are not careful. Bless the refreshments for our nourishment. Take us home in safety. Bless those who were not here this week that they will be able to come next week. When we repeat empty phrases, the Lord is not pleased. Nothing is wrong with blessing our food, asking for protection, or praying for the welfare of others. In fact, we are commanded to pray for such things. Effective prayers that reach the Lord's ears, however, must be thoughtful, intentional, genuine, and faith-filled.

I had such a prayer with my grandson just last night. His dad had been hurried to a local emergency room to attend to complications from a recent medical procedure. My grandson was home alone and feeling shaken and worried about what would happen to his dad. I was on the phone with this young man to keep him company as best I could from seven hundred miles away when he expressed his feelings of concern and sadness. I said we should pray for his dad, and he promised he would pray that night before going to bed. I suggested we could pray for him right then and there, even while we were on the phone together. He didn't need to wait for bedtime to pray.

He agreed, and I offered a simple, sincere prayer for healing for his dad, strength for his mom, and comfort for him at this stressful time. I had prayed for these things many times for this beleaguered family, but with my worried grandson present with me on the phone, it was a new and fresh prayer experience. 

After the prayer, we visited about school and other topics. A few minutes later, he said, "Papa, I think the prayer worked. I feel better now."

"Yes," I replied, "the Holy Ghost as the Comforter can help you feel better any time you are worried. You just ask, and God will send Him to help you."

His dad and mom came home a few hours later, the medical problem under control. Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers.