Sunday, March 27, 2022

The Role of the Holy Ghost in Prayer

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not yet a year old when Joseph Smith sought revelation about how church services were to be conducted. He also wanted to know concerning the use of spiritual gifts in worship services, which were mentioned in the Bible and were prevalent among some denomination is his own day. Among the revealed responses from the Lord are these words about praying by the Spirit:

He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh.
--Doctrine and Covenants 46:30

The Holy Ghost can reveal to me the mind and will of God. If I align my petitions with His will, answers will come readily. 

Herein, however, lies the hard work. Receiving revelation through the Holy Ghost is not as simple as flipping the light switch. It requires preparation through righteous living, constant repentance, humility, sincerity, faith, and practice. 

Photo by Tatiana Syrikova: https://www.pexels.com/photo/father-and-child-walking-on-shore-3968120/
And where do these attributes come from? Prayer! It is a cycle through which I grow and rise. It is sometimes one step forward and two steps back. It is like a toddler learning to walk. I seem at first to spend more time on my face than on my feet. The steadying Hand that stands me up keeps letting go, and I teeter and stumble, and I whine and cry, and eventually the helping Hand lifts me again, and I hopefully take a few more steps. 

The sad part is that it has taken me my whole life to realize I still don't know how to walk. I'm still a toddler sitting in my wet diaper on a slippery floor, thrashing about ineffectively to get a foothold to hoist myself up. I want to do it by myself instead of reaching up for the Hand ready to lift me. Maybe with enough bumps and bruises, I'll figure it out.

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Invite the Spirit through Prayer

Section 42 of the Doctrine and Covenants was revealed to Joseph Smith in the early part of 1831, less than a year after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and was identified by him as the "law of the Church." It specified principles by which the holders of the priesthood were to administer the Church and operate within it. 

The first principle of administration set forth in the revelation directed the Elders of the Church to preach the gospel to the world. This general commandment to teach and preach included the instruction to teach by the Spirit, meaning to teach as the Holy Ghost prompts and dictates. Within that instruction is the following injunction: 

And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.
--Doctrine and Covenants 42:14

We typically emphasize the second part of this verse. But I want to draw attention today to the first phrase. Before I can have the Holy Ghost's direction in what I teach, I must know how to acquire the presence of the Holy Ghost in my life.

This verse states clearly that I access the power of the Holy Ghost through prayer. Though I may have received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands following my baptism, I activate His influence in my life by asking for it. In other words, the bestowal of the gift of the Holy Ghost affords me the opportunity to have the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit, but the ordinance does not ensure that I will always retain that companionship.

The Holy Ghost resides with me only by my invitation. He honors my agency. He is easily offended by sin, both physical and mental. Hence, I must be constant in my repentance to resolve the offenses I give to the Holy Ghost through impure actions and thoughts. But I should not assume, simply because I have repented, that the Holy Ghost automatically takes up residence with me again. According to this revealed principle about how the Spirit operates, I must ask in faith for Him to return and abide with me.

I cannot take the Holy Spirit for granted. I must pray to the Father that He will send the Spirit to be with me, not only when I teach, but in all things. Only by asking and inviting can I experience the privilege of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Unity through Prayer

In June of 1830, Joseph Smith and a few elders of the fledgling Church of Jesus Christ were preparing to convene a conference of the Church, the entire membership of which could squeeze together into a single room. Joseph sought revelation from God for direction and received what we now have as Section 29. 

In this revelation, Christ sets forth His agenda for gathering scattered Israel as "a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." The prerequisite to being gathered, says Jesus, is to "hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer." The Lord encouraged these newest members of His restored Church to be glad, for he was in their midst, and was their Advocate with the Father. He then gives this commandment to the little troop:

And, as it is written—Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive.
--Doctrine and Covenants 29:6

Unity is a key to powerful faith and powerful prayer. We are put on this earth together for a reason. If it were better for us to live our mortal lives in isolation, God could have created seven billion planets and placed each of us in our own garden of Eden. 

Perpetual solitude, however, is apparently not the best plan for our growth and development into people who will live in the celestial kingdom and receive exaltation. We need to learn to be together and draw strength from each other. 

We are like little embers. Our glowing is short-lived and weak all by ourselves. But combined together in a pile where we touch each other, we can produce powerful energy that lasts a long time. Learning to work together, love together, pray together, and believe together in mortality prepares us for the kind of life we will live in eternity.

Praying together builds unity, and God wants a united people. "If ye are not one, ye are not mine," Christ says in another revelation (see Doctrine and Covenants 38:27).  

God commands his people to be united in prayer. As a congregation and as a church, we are to pray for the same things. This means not only in public prayer but in our private prayers. 

How do we unite if we don't know each other, and how do we know each other if we do not meet together and listen to each other? Our councils are crucial to the unity of faith and prayer the Lord asks of us. 

Guidance of the Holy Ghost is also a vital component. The Spirit can inspire us to pray for each other and for common goals. The prayers offered in the prayer circles in the temple are example of unified prayer. While the actual words are not prescribed, the general topics are always the same and represent the things our prophet has asked us to pray for.

I have participated in many group prayers, but known have been more unifying than when our ward has come together in special meetings to prayer for a young boy who was dying of a rare brain disease and a wife and mother stricken with cancer. We felt the power of God among us, and Jesus was surely in our midst, when we as a ward family united in a single purpose to petition God for blessings according to His will. I have been in few more sacred moments than during those prayers.

Sunday, March 6, 2022

The Song of the Heart

Shortly after the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized, Joseph Smith received a revelation directing his wife, Emma Smith, to create a hymnbook to use in the worship services of the Church. Christ explained why hymns are important and how they figure into the worship practices of the Saints.

For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.
--Doctrine and Covenants 25:12

Prayer can take many forms. I can pray silently or vocally, in private or in public. I pray when I listen to and participate in the prayers of others. 

Music can also be a form of prayer. Beautiful words and melodies can express my faith and feelings to God, which is a good definition of prayer. 

Art in almost any form can be a prayer. Even my daily work and service can be a form of prayer if they are directed towards God and fulfill His will.

I will never find myself on the stage of American Idol or The Voice, but when I sing my prayers to God, I can still get the golden ticket.