Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Faith and Prayer

Every six months or so I spend my daily commute on public transportation reading the Conference edition of the Ensign (the rest of time I do my pleasure reading). Recently I was reading the Conference report from April Conference. And these paragraphs from Elder Nelson's talk made me tear up:

If we pray with an eternal perspective, we need not wonder if our most tearful and heartfelt pleadings are heard. This promise from the Lord is recorded in section 98 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

“Your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord … and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

“Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord” (D&C 98:2-3).

The Lord chose His strongest words to reassure us! Seal! Testament! Sworn! Decreed! Immutable covenant! Brothers and sisters, believe Him! God will heed your sincere and heartfelt prayers, and your faith will be strengthened.

Elder Russell M. Nelson
Face the Future with Faith, Ensign, May 2011, p. 35

Oh the tearful and heartfelt pleadings I've had with my Father over the years. And they have been heard. And they have been answered. And the answers are always more than I could have imagined. This is a truth I know.

It was also apparently a truth I needed to be reminded of now. I pulled out my notes from when I was listening to Conference live and I'd marked a couple of talks as being just for me. This was not one of them, in April. It is a talk I need in June.

I'm so grateful for all the different ways we can interact with Conference. Watching it live. Reading the talks. Watching the DVDs (I put them on when I'm getting ready for Church Sunday mornings). If I didn't know better I'd swear what they say changes every time I hear the words. But I could say the same things about the scriptures changing to be exactly what I need when I open them.

Pray with faith. Pray for faith.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

One of my favorite professors (who was also single) shared this scripture with me when I was in college. It was one she's memorized and so she was confused when "for some reason" she couldn't find it in her scriptures. I knew why -- she spoke the words from memory, looking into my eyes with such intensity. I *felt* the Lord promise me that *somehow* my prayers would also be answered.

In retrospect, I'm *so* grateful my prayers were answered when they were. The husband I have, the children I have -- they were contingent on waiting.

I like you, "Roxie" -- someday I hope we "meet" :)

Valerie said...

I love that quote! I needed those words today.