In My Closet

Recall that Alma and Amulek were trying to teach the Zoramites to pray. The two missionaries wanted to help the people of Zoram overcome their false traditions of vain public prayer. As part of Amulek's instructions, he included this statement.

But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
--Alma 34:26

When I am in my closet, I have removed myself from the distractions of the world. Closets are not always physical, and they don't always have walls and doors. Nevertheless, in my proverbial closet, I can be alone, quiet, focused, undisturbed, and unobstructed. I can say what is in my heart without anyone judging or criticizing. Though I may be physically restricted and restrained in my little closet, my soul and heart can be free to commune with my God.

Nothing Too Small

The two missionaries, Alma and Amulek, first taught the apostate Zoramites about Christ, and then they turned their attention to the people's perverted method of prayer. Rather than repeat a rote and mean-spirited public prayer once a week, they taught the Zoramites to pray sincerely and often. Speaking of the topics appropriate for a sincere prayer, Amulek taught:

Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
--Alma 34:21-25

Amulek's great discourse on prayer teaches that there is nothing too small, temporal, or mundane that we cannot pray about it and seek the Lord's blessing. When I think I have a problem too small to bother God about, I think of these verses. He is willing to help me in every aspect of my life. 

Does God want me to be hopelessly dependent? Ultimately, no. In the interim, however, while I am mired in mortality, Christ pleads with me to come unto Him, lean on Him, share His yoke, drink of His living water, let His light guide my feet, follow His example, learn of Him, and listen to His words. I am, in truth, in this life, hopelessly dependent on Christ. I can admit my true condition and take Him as my partner, or I can deny it and struggle through life alone. My mortal struggles don't change, but whether I face them alone or not is entirely up to me. 

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.

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.

Perhaps

Many years after the prophet Alma received a threatening message from an angel and turned his life around, the Lord sent him on a mission to call the Nephites to repentance. As he preached from city to city, he bore his witness of God's reality and of God's desire for the people to repent and turn to Him. Interestingly, he did not speak of his supernatural encounter with an angel as the basis for his faith and testimony. Instead, he spoke of the following conversion process:

Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.
--Alma 5:46

It was not a visit from a heavenly messenger that converted Alma. The angel got Alma's attention, but it was fasting and prayer that brought the change of heart into Alma's life. While the angelic visitation was dramatic, Alma's conversion required diligence and patience. Alma had to wait on the Lord.

Why does God sometimes delay His response to my prayers? Perhaps He is giving me time to prepare for the answer. Perhaps I need the time to hone and refine my request. Perhaps I haven't done all I can on my own yet to truly distinguish between my power and God's power. Perhaps I am not ready to appreciate the answer when it comes. Perhaps I have taken no thought about what I want except to ask. Perhaps the development of patience and endurance are more valuable blessings than the thing I ask for. 

Nevertheless, once I am prepared, specific, and humble, having expended my own best efforts, and learned patience, the answer comes. It may not be what I initially thought I wanted, but it is always what I truly need.

Prayer Unlocks Power

When the prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon began seeing waywardness and wickedness in his son, he turned to prayer to engage God in the struggle for his son's soul. In response to the faith-filled prayers of Alma and the people of the church, the Lord sent an angel to halt Alma Junior on the path to destruction. The young man recorded the words of the heavenly messenger thus:

And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.
--Mosiah 27:14

Prayers on behalf of others work. They unlock the power of God. They don't necessarily change God's will, but they have an impact. 

Things happen with prayer that might not happen or might happen differently without prayer. I do not understand completely how it works or why it works, but I am convinced by many evidences that prayer for others does indeed work.

Honest Prayer of the Heart

When a young man by the name of Alma rebelled against wicked King Noah, he gathered many followers to whom he preached the true gospel. Eventually this band of faithful believers had to flee from the unrighteous kingdom. After settling in a secluded valley where they could worship God unhindered, Alma's people were discovered and surrounded by the Lamanites. Alma's people were enslaved, and along with losing their liberty, they were forbidden to worship God. Anyone caught praying to God would be executed on the spot. 

The scripture records how the people responded to their oppression:

And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.
--Mosiah 24:12

The Lord heard these silent prayers and answered them initially with comfort and strength to endure. Eventually, God rescued these people and led them to a place of safety.

The thoughts of my heart are more than my superficial musings. They are what move and motivate me. They are who I am when no one is looking. They are the essence of my character. To pour out the thoughts or contents of my heart is to be completely honest and transparent. No posturing or pretending. An honest heart is a broken heart. 

Honesty in prayer is essential. God knows when I am honest and authentic. I don't have to sugar coat it for Him. If I am angry, He can take it. If I am depressed, He comforts me. If I am happy, He rejoices with me and sweetens my joy. He simply wants to be a part of whatever I am doing and however I am feeling. If I invite Him in, He can enrich every moment. And in the end, He will save me and lead me to a place of safety, even into His loving embrace.