In the Name of the Son Forevermore

After Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit and were driven out of the Garden of Eden, God taught them to offer sacrifices as a religious ritual. Determined to be obedient, Adam built an altar of stone and offered sacrificial animals upon it on a regular basis for "many days." 

An angel eventually appeared to Adam and Eve and asked them if they understood the significance of this ritual. "Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?" Surely, Adam and Eve must have asked themselves that same question many times. To the angel's question, Adam's answer is a perfect example of submissive obedience. "I know not, save the Lord commanded me" (see Moses 5:6).

Satisfied that Adam and Eve would be obedient no matter the logical reason, the angel explained the significance of the blood sacrifice. It represented the sacrifice that would be made by the Only Begotten Son of God to atone for the sins of the world.

Because of the Atonement of the Son of God, the conduit to the Father was opened, with Christ as the Advocate and Mediator. The angel then delivered this commandment to Adam and Eve: 

Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.
--Moses 5:8

All I do, including prayer, should be in the name of Christ, meaning I do it as He would do it, under His direction, and to honor Him and glorify Him. I shine a light on Christ's goodness when I do something good. I honor, acknowledge, and glorify Christ's perfect relationship with the Father when I exercise my own relationship with the Father in Christ's name. 

I rely on Jesus's atonement and grace when I approach the Father in Jesus's name. He washes me, clothes me in spotless apparel, and accompanies me to the Father's throne when I pray in His name. He advocates my cause, takes my imperfect prayer, polishes it, and represents it perfectly to the Father. 

God hears every prayer, but when I include Christ as my Advocate, Counselor, Champion, and Tutor, my prayers can become powerful indeed. 

Jesus testified during His earthly ministry that the Father heard Him (see John 12:41-42). When I pray in His name, I tap into His power and claim the same privilege to always be heard. 

It is the height of arrogance to do good and to approach the Father in my own name, for I am never good enough or worthy enough on my own to fully satisfy Him. However, when I do my best and come to the Father totality dependent on Jesus in the depths of humility, Jesus satisfies the Father for me, and I please Him. 

Jesus makes it possible for me to have a relationship with the Father. To cut Him out of the equation is to seriously diminish my opportunity for grace and divine approbation. 

Turn the Key with Prayer

Before Moses documented his account of the Creation, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and all that followed, he recorded his encounter with God Almighty that gave him the knowledge he wrote about in the book of Gensis. As described in his preface to his first book in the Old Testament, Moses saw God face to face and talked with Him, and God showed Moses the earth and everything about it. 

After this glorious vision, God left Moses to ponder the things he had seen and learned. Seeing an opportunity to catch Moses at a potential moment of weakness, Satan appeared on the scene. The devil commanded Moses to worship him, claiming his own version of divinity. 

Moses instantly saw through Satan's lie and told the deceiver to depart. Undaunted, Satan redoubled his efforts to convince Moses to accept him as the "only begotten." When Moses saw the ferocity of Satan's bogus claim and felt the power of darkness embodied in God's most virulent enemy, the record says:

And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.
--Moses 1:20

Like Moses, when I need strength to resist or overcome adversity in my life, I can call upon God, who is Strength and who gives strength. It is in my moments of supreme weakness that God can show His supreme power. 

I cannot fight the devil alone without God's power. Because I fight Satan everyday, I need God's strength every day. I receive power when I pray. So, to skip prayer is like forgetting to turn the key in the ignition and then wondering why the car won't go. 

Gratitude Creates Rich Prayers

Having been driven by violent mobs from Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, and their prophet murdered, the Saints were fleeing to the Rocky Mountains where they could once again start over. Brigham Young, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, had been sustained as the leader of the people. In preparing the people to begin an orderly exodus west to their intended new homeland, President Young received a revelation about how to organize the thousands of faithful Latter-day Saints who followed him. Within that revelation is the following admonition:

If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
--Doctrine and Covenants 136:28

Prayer takes many forms and is inspired in many ways. While some prayers (perhaps most) are petitions for blessings or requests for knowledge, others can be genuine expressions of gratitude for the blessings and knowledge we already have. 

God's blessings flow to us continually. He showers us daily, hourly, even moment by moment with gifts and grace, most of which we take for granted or assume as our entitlement if we notice then at all: Life, breath, agency, animation, the immutable laws of nature and physics, sunshine, water, raw materials and finished goods, the opportunities to work and serve, people to love and who love us, and spiritual gifts of faith, repentance, forgiveness, hope, testimony, assurance, knowledge, power, and the crowning gift of redemption through Christ and His atonement leading us to eternal life. 

When we awaken from time to time from our stupor of entitlement and recognize the abundance of God's continuous and bounteous gifts, He likes to hear from us. No one likes to be taken for granted. We all enjoy moments of recognition and appreciation. We want to rejoice together. 

Our Father likewise wants to rejoice with us. He gives us everything for our happiness and progression. We are His joy and His glory. When we recognize and share in His joy, He reflects it ten-fold in our lives. 

Our relationship with Him is enriched and deepened through gratitude. We see Him for the loving, generous Parent He is, and we become better children. 

Gratitude is an essential element of our prayer life and our relationship with God. We must cultivate it, nurture it, and express it often. The more gratitude we feel, the more blessings we will recognize and the richer our prayers will be.

The Dynamic Duo

Section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants is a wide ranging revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith meant to bring insights and messages of peace to the fledgling Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Among the instructions contained in this revelation is the following:

Also, I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth.
--Doctrine and Covenants 88:76

Prayer and fasting are a dynamic duo in my arsenal of spiritual tools. They go hand in hand, working together to increase my ability to draw closer to the Lord. While I can pray without fasting, to fast without praying is simply going hungry. Fasting is the symbol of my sacrifice, reminiscent of the ancient Israelites' sacrifices. God no longer wants animal sacrifices on stone altars, however. Christ taught that after He fulfilled the Law of Moses, my sacrifice is to be a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Fasting lays my inner animal on the altar of my heart.

Fasting is a turbo charger for prayer. When I fast, I subjugate symbolically the appetites of the natural man to the desires of my spirit. In my humbled state, I can more easily receive the impressions and whisperings of the Holy Ghost. My prayers can be more inspired and in tune with God's will for me, which is the whole purpose of prayer.

The Season of Prayer

In the fall of 1831, four men asked Joseph Smith to inquire of the Lord for them concerning what God would have them do. Joseph received a revelation in response. The Lord took the opportunity to instruct not only the four men who originally asked but the entire Church. Among the instructions directed at the Church at large is this statement:

And a commandment I give unto them—that he that observeth not his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof, let him be had in remembrance before the judge of my people.
--Doctrine and Covenants 68:33

Regular prayer is a commandment, and to refrain from prayer is a sin. The season to pray is when the Holy Ghost prompts me to pray. If I ignore that prompting from the Spirit, I am disobedient and rebellious. The Holy Spirit will withdraw from me as I further withdraw myself from God. 

Now, I can certainly pray even when the Spirit is not urging me to do so, but to resist the Spirit is a sin of which I must speedily repent when I catch myself. It is in those very times when I feel least inclined to pray that God reaches for me with the most compassion.