The Lord Jesus Christ invites us to pray and to establish a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. Through His wonderful example, He has taught us how to establish and maintain that intimate relationship with His Father. In the scriptures we find Jesus praying many times to His Father, which expresses a very personal relationship with Him.
We read in the scriptures, "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened". [1] Jesus teaches us that a prayer from the heart opens heaven. He said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you". [2] Today, we usually use the word "ask" to request something. The word "ask" in the original Greek is aiteo, which means "to ask," "to beg," "to crave," "to implore." The heavens will not be opened if we just say prayers. The heaven will be opened if we beg, if we crave, if we implore, if we pray from the heart.
When you pray, do you feel like the heaven is opened? When was the last time you felt something as you were praying?
In your personal prayers, avoid finding yourself in the middle of a routine kind of prayer. Only prayers from the heart open heaven. For you and me to avoid using vain words, we should prepare ourselves to pray. Before starting a personal prayer, we could read a scripture, or we could briefly ponder all of our blessings. Each one of us can find ways to prepare for a personal prayer.
Sometimes we do not feel like praying, and it is in those moments when the need is truly the greatest. Brigham Young taught the following:
"When it is dark as midnight darkness, when there is not one particle of feeling in my heart to pray, shall I then say, I will not pray? No, but get down knees, bend yourselves upon the floor, and mouth, open; tongue, speak; and we will see what will come forth, and you shall worship the Lord God of Israel, even when you feel as though you could not say a word in His favor. That is the victory we have to gain; that is the warfare we have to wage. It is between the spirit and the body; they are inseparably connected." [3]
Jesus invites us to pray in such a way that we may be able to feel as though the heavens are opened.
When was the last time you felt something as you were praying? If you do not remember when the last time you felt something as you were praying was, then you must do something about it. It is very, very important for you to establish and maintain a personal relationship with your Father in Heaven. The enemy to all righteousness does not want you to pray, because he knows that the moment you start praying from the heart, you obtain power--spiritual power--and he loses influence over you. A mighty prayer provides spiritual power to face anxiety, depression, doubts about your own faith. A personal relationship with your Father in Heaven through prayers from the heart, through mighty prayers, will give you power to make the right decisions. For example, if you are wrestling with the idea of giving up and not continuing your studies at BYU-Idaho, then you desperately need help from heaven. And "Jesus ... praying, the heaven was opened." A prayer from the heart is a moment in heaven. It is indeed a moment in heaven. If you have a moment in heaven, you will know what to do. You will make the right decision.
In a world where so many temptations are presented to our eyes, where so much peer pressure is felt by good people like you, where you find people "that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter" [4] --in a world like this, you need to feel like the heaven is open to you. Prayers offered from the heart, mighty prayers, will give you spiritual power to face such things. And "Jesus ... praying, the heaven was opened." When was the last time you felt something as you were praying? Feelings of peace, of comfort, of joy, of love are some of the feelings that come to you when the heaven is opened.
Jesus teaches us how to pray. In the scriptures, we read, "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed". [5] Jesus prayed first thing in the morning--first thing in the morning. He would look for a solitary place to pray. In other words, He would avoid any distractions; He would unplug Himself from the world in order to establish a connection with the heavens. Do you pray first thing in the morning? Do you avoid any distractions as you pray? Do you unplug yourself from the world? Do you strive to establish a connection with the heaven? When a negative thought comes to your mind as you pray, what do you do to stay focused?
"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."
Luke also records another moment of prayer that Jesus had. "And he [Jesus] withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed" [6].
Jesus teaches us how to pray. "And he [Jesus] went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt". [7]
The word for "fell" in the original Greek is pipto, which is a verb and means "to descend from a higher place to a lower," "to descend from an erect to a prostrate position," "to prostrate oneself."
When the moment comes for a personal prayer, you have to always have in mind that you are going to address the Creator of all that is in the universe, the Creator of "worlds without number"[8], the God of heaven, the most intelligent and powerful being in the universe, "the father of mercies, and the God of all comfort" [9]. Before such a being, I feel compelled to kneel down. You all are young and can, like Jesus, fall on the ground to have a moment in heaven through a mighty prayer.
Jesus said to His Father, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." As you pray and say "not as I will, but as thou wilt," do you truly, really mean it? What changes do you need to make in your mind and in your heart to really mean it?
Our Father in Heaven uses prayers to teach us important lessons. As you strive to be humble and honest and sincere in your prayers, you will find that it will be easier for you to accept His will, even though this will not be what you were praying for.
Jesus prayed in times of anguish. "And being in an agony he [Jesus] prayed more earnestly." [10] The word for "agony" in the original Greek is agonia, which is a feminine noun and makes reference to severe mental struggles and emotions--agony, anguish.
When facing a difficulty, do you spend more time asking yourself, "Why me? How is it possible that this is happening to me? And why now?" Or do you kneel down in mighty prayer to reach "the father of mercies, and the God of all comfort"? The time of great distress for a person is the great opportunity for our Heavenly Father. Our hearts soften and our minds wrestle for answers. He will be there for us. Some of us might say, "He does not answer my prayers," "I do not know how to tell if He is really answering." Please remember that when Jesus was in an agony, "he prayed more earnestly." The time of great distress for a person is the great opportunity for our Heavenly Father.
The expression "more earnestly" in English comes from a Greek word, which in turn comes from another meaning "without ceasing, fervent." So in moments of trial, Jesus teaches us that we have to pray more earnestly, without ceasing, fervently. He said unto the ruler of the synagogue, "Be not afraid, only believe"[11]. Only believe that He will listen to you very attentively. Only believe that He "will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart"[12]. Only believe that you--yes, you--can feel peace and comfort. Only believe that you can receive spiritual power to overcome. I invite all those who are going through times of distress to turn to the living God, to be connected to the heavens, to go for a moment in heaven, to offer mighty prayers, prayers from the heart.
Mighty prayers reach the heavens. In the book of Psalms, King David explains what a mighty prayer is. "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice."[13] One of the meanings of the word "pray" in Hebrew is "to speak." And that very thing is what we do when we pray to our Heavenly Father: We speak to Him. Prayer is a wonderful thing. When we make a mighty prayer, we have a moment in the heavens. We all need a moment in the heavens, especially when we are going through difficult times. When we offer a mighty prayer, we have the attention of the most powerful, merciful, and loving being in the universe.
Every now and then, we are the real problem of prayer because we just say prayers, or we pray out of routine. Sometimes we do not pray with faith in Jesus Christ, and sometimes we do not even pray.
Some time ago, I was trying to calculate how many prayers I have had in my 45 years as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I found that I had offered at least 120,000 prayers in those 45 years. As I have prayed to my Heavenly Father over the years, He has taught me many, many important things. I have learned to know the difference between offering prayers with my lips and offering mighty prayers. When I offer a mighty prayer, I feel something. Sometimes I feel peace, sometimes I feel joy, sometimes I feel comfort, sometimes I feel loved. I have learned to prepare myself for a moment of personal prayer. I have learned to pray in my heart [14] during the day. I have learned to spend more time thanking Him than asking Him. I have learned that I am naked before Him, that I cannot hide anything from Him as I pray. I have learned that mighty prayers bring spiritual power to me. I have felt this power. I have seen it. I cannot deny this. Through mighty prayers, I hear the voice of God speaking to my mind with ideas and speaking to my heart with feelings and promptings. I know the voice. I love that voice. It sounds deep down in me. I cannot deny this.
I have an iPhone with me. I can call my mother or my father using this device, and I can hear their voices very clearly whenever I call them. I do not know how it is possible that, without any cable or visible connection, I can talk to them in New Jersey. My voice travels through the air in a way that I cannot see or comprehend. I cannot understand the science behind all this. But one thing I know: It works! It functions! That is all that I need to know. Now, please do not ask me how it is possible that millions of people can pray at the same time and in different languages and our Father in Heaven is ready to listen and to answer at the same time. I cannot understand how that happens. But one thing I know: It works!
I know beyond any doubt that there is a God in heaven. He is your Father and my Father. He lives. His name is Love. His name is Mercy. I am not worthy of His love. I am not worthy of His mercy. I am not worthy of His blessings upon me. I am less than the dust of the earth. I am nothing before Him. But in spite of being nothing before Him, I can kneel down before my Maker, and I can speak to Him. And He, in His infinite mercy, answers back, answers back, answers back.
I have come to know in the flesh that Jesus is the Christ, that in Him I have power to overcome all things[15], that He is my Lord, my King, my Savior, my Redeemer. President Monson is indeed the prophet of the Lord today. I sustain him and his counselors and the Twelve as prophets, seers, and revelators. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Luke 3:21
[2] Matthew 7:7
[3] Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 3:207
[4] Isaiah 5:20
[5] Mark 1:35
[6] Luke 5:16
[7] Matthew 26:39
[8] Moses 1:33
[9] 2 Corinthians 1:3
[10] Luke 22:44
[11] Mark 5:36
[12] D&C 8:2
[13] Psalms 55:17
[14] 3 Nephi 20:1
[15] Philippians 4:13