Spiritual Air and Water

While the resurrected Christ ministered among the Nephites in the Western Hemisphere, he instituted the ordinance of the Sacrament of the Last Supper. His gospel is the same on both sides of the world and so are the ordinances. Directly after administering the sacrament, Jesus encouraged His twelve special disciples to pray:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him. 
--3 Nephi 18:15

He then turned to the multitude who had just partaken of the sacrament and repeated the same instructions:

Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
--3 Nephi 18:18

Repetition in scripture indicates significance and emphasis. The Savior used these exact words twice in this brief sermon on prayer. He did not want the lesson lost. 

Watching and praying are of vital importance to my spiritual welfare. They are like air and water. 

For what must I watch? Temptation—the sly, insidious, almost imperceptible invitations to stray from the Lord's way, the covenant path. The Big 10 are not Satan's weapons. I'm highly unlikely to commit murder, rob a bank, or perjure myself in court. To quote Joseph Smith, "A disposition to commit such was never in my nature" (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History 1:28).

A million little things can rack up a big score, however. I must watch for the small sins—often not so much what I do but what I don't do. Despite the Savior's injunction to "watch", I become easily lulled into complacency and inattention. I simply forget to watch.

And so, the second injunction to "pray always." Knowing I would fail to watch perfectly, Jesus directs me to bolster my faulty watching with prayer. When I watch, I put the onus on myself to be aware of the temptations that beset me and to avoid them. When I pray, however, I put the onus (and my faith) on God  to help me, to watch for me, and to steer me clear of the obstacles my enemy puts in my path. Between my feeble attempts and God's immense power, there is hope for me.

One more thought: Note the scripture does not say "pray regularly" or "pray daily". It says to "pray always". How do I pray always if I cannot watch always? Given my one-track mind, how do I focus on watching and praying continually while I must also give my attention to the things of daily life, particularly the mental activities like writing? Should I lock myself in a monastic cell and shut the door to all outside distractions? I could watch and pray always, but I wouldn't be of much use to anyone.

Though we usually think of the word "always" in its primary sense of "at all times and on all occasions," it has a second meaning: "as a last resort." For instance, if you can't get your car to start, you can always call a tow truck. Is that the meaning of "prayer always?" If I have done all I can to watch myself and keep myself out of trouble, is prayer my last resort? Is prayer my last hope? Isn't prayer really my only hope? Isn't faith in Christ and repentance my one true hope?

Formula for Spiritual Growth

Behold a formula for spiritual growth through prayer:

But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.
--Alma 13:28-29

I see the following elements in this formula that apply to my life:

1. Humble myself. I must not wait to be compelled to be humble. I can choose to be humble. I can look for ways I am proud, resistant, and unteachable, and take positive steps voluntarily to surrender my pride and my weapons of rebellion.
2. Call upon God. This is more than trite prayer or a mindless postscript to an exhausting day. It is reaching deep into my soul to see what I am really made of and then offering it unto the Lord. It is acting as if I were coming into His presence.
3. Watch and pray continually. I must pay attention rather than drift mindlessly through the day on spiritual autopilot. Be thoughtful and deliberate in my actions, always guided by the Spirit, which shows me the Lord's will. And do things prayerfully. Undertake no task save in the first place I ask God to direct me and consecrate my actions for the benefit of my soul as well as the benefit of others. Just as calling upon God is a different level of prayer, praying continually is a different flow of prayer. There is no amen to a continuous prayer.
4. Let the Holy Spirit guide, which implies that I first ask for direction, then listen for it, note it when it comes, and obey it. Again, it is the surrendering of my will to God's and doing things His way.
5. Seek the following gifts of the Spirit: humility (teachable, open to direction, able to see and admit weakness, ready to accept help), meekness (accept others as they are and let them be right), submissiveness (give up my stubborn pride so I can follow the direction of the Spirit), patience (operate on God's timetable instead of insisting on my own), full of love and all long-suffering (care more about others than myself, bear with others' imperfections because I know they must bear with mine, see others through God's eyes).
6. Have faith on the Lord rather than in myself, knowing that I cannot save myself but am totally dependent on Christ as my Redeemer.
7. Have hope, which motivates me to continue in the face of constant and inevitable failure because I believe that in the end Christ will erase all sins, heal all wounds, and right all wrongs.
8. Have the love of God always in my heart. Be filled with charity, which is a gift from God for which I must pray diligently and with all my heart as if I were pleading for my very life—which, in fact, is exactly what I am doing.

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.

Persistently Consistent

The Apostle Paul exhorted the faithful followers of Christ in these words:  

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
--Romans 12:12

The phrase "continuing instant in prayer" means to be constantly persistent in our prayers. A prayer binge followed by silent indifference or prolonged distraction is a formula for failure with God. Sometimes our trials persist so that our prayers persist. Persistent prayers lead to persistent hope, which produces persistent joy. 

When I pray persistently and consistently, I can rejoice in hope and patiently endure tribulations. The three are related and dependent. Tribulation teaches practical patience, and prayer adds to my patience. I pray for the gift of patience, not only in my trials but in all good things. The answer to my prayers is hope, and once I have hope, I can rejoice, even in tribulations. 

Persistence is not the same as vain repetition. Vain repetition comes from thoughtlessly reciting words that may have had meaning once but are now hollow. We may have felt good about a particular prayer the first time, so we repeat it over and over again hoping it will make us feel good again. It is not prayer to God but a therapeutic exercise directed at ourselves. 

Persistent prayer may be repetitive, but it is filled with faith, hope, and expectation. It is an expression of my trust and patience in a God who knows best and whose timing is best from an eternal perspective, especially when my mortal perspective is temporally myopic. I constantly let God know I wait in faith and trust in His divine wisdom. Trials come and go, and in their wake they leave enlivened hope, increased joy, solid patience, and ever blossoming prayer.