Call for Mercy

Two great missionaries, Alma and Amulek, answered the call from God to preach repentance to an apostate group called the Zoramites. The first thing these two men observed was a form of false worship in which one person at a time stood on a tall stand so they could be seen by their fellows and shouted a memorized prayer, every worshipper saying the same words. The two missionaries wanted to correct this faulty prayer practice, and so they taught the Zoramites a mighty sermon on true prayer, ending with these words:

Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you.
--Alma 34:17

I may pray in many situations, at many different times, to offer up thanks for many blessings and to put forth many petitions. The most important prayer I can offer, however, is my personal, private prayer for mercy. If I could secure God's mercy, all else would take care of itself. Everything I need flows from God's mercy and grace.

In My Distress

Chapter 18 of the book of Psalms is a magnificent testimony of God's strength. King David, having suffered many trials and afflictions in his younger years, speaks with great power in beautiful language of his love for the Lord:

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
-Psalm 18:1-3

I love these words: strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, my buckler, the horn of my salvation, my high tower. And then, what does he say? I will call upon the Lord, and so I shall be saved. God has unfathomable power, but we have to call upon Him. He won't save me unless I ask.

Then David writes:

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
-Psalm 18:6

In my distress, I too have called upon the Lord, and He has heard me. When I have been crushed by dark despair, He has lifted me and lightened my way. When I could see no way out of my trials, He walked with me. When I have felt alone, He has come to my side. But only when I asked.

In his Psalm David describes all the ways God has intervened for him with great displays of heavenly power, and then he concludes:

With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure. . . For thou wilt save the afflicted people. . . For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
-Psalm 18:25-28

God will be merciful to me and to all those who call upon Him. We just need to ask. A simple, sincere prayer. All that power is waiting to protect us and save us. Smoke, fire, hot coals like hail, hurricanes, thunder, brilliant light - it is all available, God's full power and glory - when we ask.

David ends his Psalm with these words of praise and gratitude:

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.
-Psalm 18:49-50

God has shown mercy to me, David, though I am not a king. May He show great mercy to my children and all that come after me.

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.

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.