God Hears

The prophet Nephi foresaw the destruction that awaited his people. The picture was bleak indeed. In many ways, what Nephi saw in his people's future parallels the challenges we will face in the "last days." Nevertheless, Nephi offered a ray of hope to the faithful followers of Christ, even amidst the trials to come:

After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.

--2 Nephi 26:15

Despite everything that may seem to go wrong in my life, and though I feel abandoned and alone, if I stay faithful, my prayers shall be heard. My Father never ignores me. Although He might seem unreachable in the midst of my toughest trials, I remind myself that during a test in school, the teacher remains silent. But that doesn't mean the teacher is unaware of me or of the challenges of the test. God helps in times of trouble. Of that I am sure, of that I testify.

Have You Inquired of the Lord?

The prophet Lehi had received a marvelous vision about God's plan of salvation for the human family. He described his vision to his sons, Nephi believed his father, but Lehi's other son's, Laman, Lemuel, and Sam, struggled to understand. While Nephi went off and prayed about what he had heard, his brothers argued and bickered over the possible meanings of the vision. Nephi received his own revelation from God to enlighten him, but the others were stuck in their intellectual reasoning.

Nephi found his brothers bitterly disputing with each other. He asked them, "Have you inquired of the Lord?" Their answer was, "No, God doesn't talk to us. He won't respond to our questions." Nephi then taught his brothers a truth about prayer that he had learned for himself:

Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.
--1 Nephi 15:11

In his response to his brothers' quandary, Nephi provides us with a formula for receiving revelation as an answer to prayer. 

The first step is to not harden our hearts. A hard heart is one that denies the possibility that God will hear and answer. Such a heart denies the need for God. It's closed in on itself, becoming impenetrable and unyielding. A hard heart is a willful decision to reject God and His spirit. It is the stony ground on which any seed of truth withers and dies before it has a chance to take root. To get an answer to our prayers, our hearts must be soft, pliable, open, accepting, willing to take what comes and consider the possibility that God has something to offer. We prepare our hearts through diligent searching of the word of God and nurturing the seeds that land within us. When we choose God, He cultivates our hearts and prepares them to be expanded. 

The second step is to ask. Asking is a commandment. We must ask to put ourselves in a position to receive consciously and with thanksgiving. Learning what to ask attunes us to the revelatory process. We learn what God wants to give us, and we know what to expect so we recognize the answer when it comes. The asking is not for God, who already knows our needs; it is for us to identify our true needs as God sees them in His infinite wisdom and goodness. Asking shows our willingness to receive and exercises our agency in alignment with God's will. If we don't ask, we won't receive. 

The third step is to exercise faith. Faith is to act on an unseen outcome. It is moving forward even when the path is not clear with the assumption that clarity will come when we need it. It is confidence and trust in an answer that has not yet been granted but will surely come. It propels us into the unknown with the assurance that it will be knowable at the right time. Faith is trusting in the goodness of God and the wisdom of His timing. 

The fourth step is believing that God will deliver on His promises. Believing is patient waiting. It is not wishing. It is hopeful expectation, an extension of our faith. We sincerely and honestly anticipate the answer we asked for. Believing enables us to wait without despair, to watch diligently, to be ever ready. 

The final step is to diligently keep the commandments. When we obey what we already know, we show our readiness to receive and obey more. We keep ourselves attuned to the Holy Spirit. Our receiver is dialed in and ready to accept the answers when they come. We align ourselves with God's will and make room in our hearts to receive more of His will and wisdom. Thus, the answer we receive will be a step in the direction we are already headed rather than an abrupt about face. 




 




When we follow Nephi's formula, the promised blessings of knowledge and revelation will come just as surely as combining hydrogen with oxygen produces water.

Getting On the Right Track

The Apostle John wrote:

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
--1 John 5: 14-15

The key to getting answers to prayer is to ask according to God's will. In other words, if I learn to ask for that which He already plans to give me, the answer is a slam dunk. I can't miss. When I know of a surety that I have asked correctly, I can have complete confidence I will receive what I asked for. 

So, if I want answers to my prayers, I must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit, who reveals to me the mind and will of God, and then I have to go with it. When I stop fighting with God about what I want and submit to Him for what He wants, everything goes a lot smoother. 

God is going to get His way sooner or later anyway. I might as well sign up for the program right up front and get on the right track early.

Obedience Affects the Outcome of Prayer

In the Apostle John's first general letter to the church in his day, he bore his eyewitness testimony of the resurrected Christ. Then he counseled the saints in the proper Christian life. Among his injunctions are these words:

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
--1John 3:22

How I live—my obedience and faithfulness—affect the outcome of my prayers. It's just that simple. If I want answers, I must live for them and qualify for them. I do not earn them, for no one is really worthy. Answers to prayer, like the Atonement itself, are gifts of grace and mercy. But like I must qualify for the grace of the Atonement, I must qualify for the gift of answers to prayer. God is good, but He is not stupid; generous, but not foolish. He gives to those who will recognize and appreciate His gifts. The proof of my desire is in the asking, but the proof of my appreciation is in the living and keeping the commandments.

Secret Sauce of Effectual Prayer

A brother in Elder's Quorum meeting lamented that he doesn't know how to pray very well because so many of his prayers go unanswered. He felt that he was missing the secret sauce of successful prayer, that he was somehow missing an element of faith or obedience that would unlock the mystery of communicating effectively with God. I think perhaps the members of Christ's ancient church in Rome may have had similar feelings, for Paul wrote to them with the following counsel:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
--Romans 8:26

The Holy Ghost teaches us what we should pray for. The Lord, after all, knows what we need before we ask. The purpose of prayer is not to make God align with us but to align us with Him. So, seeking instruction from the Holy Spirit about our prayers only makes sense.

If there is secret sauce to effectual prayer, it is this principle of revelation through the Holy Ghost. Getting answers from God is not like learning to be the wizard's apprentice. The wizard's apprentice could never get the magic spells to work right because he inevitably failed to follow the wizard's instructions to the letter. The apprentice always left out some obscure, seemingly insignificant step, and then the spell would go all wrong. 

While we may be apprentices in the practice of prayer, Heavenly Father is not a cross and vengeful wizard. He is our loving Father. Getting answers is not about doing everything just right or asking just the right question in just the right way. God is not tricky. He is not hard to find and follow. He doesn't smirk or grimace when we fumble. He hears even the most rudimentary and inarticulate prayers.

He does not wait for us to stumble onto the magic incantation of the perfect prayer formula. He simply wants us to reach out to Him, no matter how imperfect our prayer, our approach, and our lives may be. 

If we want the secret sauce of prayer, we should seek to know God's will -- what He wants for us and His timing. If we learn to pray for what He wants when He wants it, our prayers will be answered every time.

An Air-Tight Contract, But Don't Miss the Fine Print

As Jesus approached the end of His mortal ministry, He wanted to strengthen the Apostles for the difficult times ahead of them. Among His comforting words are these promises about prayer: 

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 
--John 14:13-14

This is a bold promise of the power of prayer. Ask anything--ANYTHING--in the named of Jesus, and He will do it. And why will He do it? To glorify the Father, to shine the spotlight on God, to show us the limitless power of the Creator and Ruler of the universe. No one but a lunatic or the true Son of God would make such a claim. He offers us the opportunity to put Him to the test, try Him out, see what

happens. Either His word is good, or He is a fraud. So why not try Him? What is there to lose? And if He makes good on His promise, what is there to gain! 

Ah, but there is a qualification, a little piece of fine print that appears in the next chapter. 

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
--John 15:7

Jesus restates His promise, but with an introductory proviso, namely, that we must abide in Him and allow His word to abide in us. In other words, we have to do our best to be obedient, follow Him, and live like He lives. We must not only study His word but internalize it and live it. Then, and only then, is His promise sure and the contract air tight.