Pray Always and I Will Pour Out My Spirit Upon You (D&C 19:38)
Elder L. Edward Brown
January 14, 2003
I take for my theme a passage from the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 19:38. "Pray always and I will pour out my Spirit upon you."
Oh, my dear brothers and sisters, I know this is true. With all my heart, I know that this is true. Prayer, regular sincere communication with the Father in the Name of the Son, brings spiritual direction, spiritual power into our lives.
Prayer in the Morning
Are you praying every day, morning and evening, and perhaps several times throughout the day, especially in your math class?
As a bishop, when I would meet with members one on one, I would frequently ask the question. "Are you praying every day morning and evening?" Occasionally, the answer came, "Well, not as much as I should?" Then, I would ask, "What more should you be doing?" The answer, "I don't pray in the morning as much as I should.? I just pile out of bed at the last minute, look in the mirror and nearly faint at the sight, catch a quick breakfast, if any at all, and rush off to work, school or wherever."
Is this a pattern in your life? Are you missing that morning communication with the Father? Let's refer again to our theme scripture. "Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you?" Could it not also be said then, "Pray occasionally and I will give you my spirit occasionally."
When we pray in the morning as individuals, as roommates, as families, we receive from the Lord, as it were, an umbrella for protection as we go out into a stormy world. Oh, how we need that protection. From 3 Nephi 18:18, we read:
"Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desires to have you..."
That makes one shiver just a bit.
This prayer business is a big deal! You have probably experienced what I have, when halfway through the morning, everything seems so confused. You just can't seem to prepare for a class, get anything meaningful done, and then it hits you, that is, the Holy Ghost hits you, and He whispers,
"Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?"
And you say to yourself, "O, no wonder, I haven't even asked for help and you take a moment to ask for forgiveness in prayer in your heart and then to plead with the Father to help you with your current task. And then, as the Nephites would say, "And it came to pass." The ideas begin to flow. You can think more clearly. But most importantly, the Spirit whispers peace to your soul. And you take a deep breath and life is good.
That is how it works. I know that it is so!! The Spirit brings peace from an outside source, not of your own making. Now you can bear what you thought you could not bear. Burdens are lifted. Your thoughts are more organized. You know that God knows you and really cares. In Doctrine and Covenants 67:1-2, He reassures us by saying:
"Behold and hearken, O ye elders [we would add, "O ye my sons and daughters] of my church . . . whose prayers I have heard, and whose hearts I know, and whose desires have come up before me.
Behold and lo, mine eyes are upon you . . ." (Doctrine and Covenants 67:1-2)
Heavenly Father knows our hearts. His eyes are upon us. He hears our prayers.
A Seoul Korea Missionary Experience
Perhaps this true account from two missionaries serving in the Seoul Korea Mission, while I was mission president there, will help to illustrate. Elder Craig Drew writes,
I recall walking in the vicinity of the Seoul train station one bitterly cold evening, as we made our way to an investigator's home, located in the middle of a dilapidated shanty town. It gave new meaning to "the other side of the tracks." For a young nineteen year old, raised in a comfortable middle class home, in the isolated reaches of northern Ontario, Canada, without much exposure to the world, it truly was a wake up call.
Elder Richard Rife, my first senior companion, had met a young married man, Mr. Chang, a few weeks prior and had begun to teach him, his wife, and their little boy, Do Young.
As we arrived at their home, I was overcome by the cramped quarters of their humble house. It consisted of a room, no larger than five feet by ten feet, where the family lived, ate and slept. The February temperatures were bitterly cold. Thin rice paper covered the walls as the family sat in traditional Korean style, and draped a large comforter over us in an attempt to keep us warm.
The Chang family had a special spirit about them, filled with humility, and were wonderful hosts, as we began to teach them the discussions.
On one of our visits, a short time later, Mrs. Chang, who was holding her agitated son in her arms, met us in the small lane leading to their home. It appeared she had been crying for some time. She told us that a day or so prior, little Do Young had slipped and fallen ,and landed on a large, burning charcoal briquette, searing his bare bottom with a major third degree burn. I clearly recall the blistered and pus- filled wound that marred his tiny body. At that time, the Korean health care system had nothing for its poor. A doctor's visit was out of the question for the financially strapped family.
Instead of teaching one of the prescribed lessons that evening, Elder Rife felt impressed to teach the family about the power of the priesthood and the different ways it can be used, including the blessing of the sick and afflicted. The Chang's agreed to fast and pray with us the following day, and then we would return that evening to give their little son, Do Young, a special blessing.
Not one to be considered a shining example of fasting prior to my mission, a day of fasting, combined with a full day of missionary work with a dedicated companion/trainer, was a taxing experience. I had been raised in a part member family where the priesthood was not in our home. This was my first experience with exercising the priesthood and giving a blessing of this magnitude.
The next evening, we arrived at the Chang home and found father, mother, and child anxiously waiting. Sister Chang smiled as she told us how hungry she was, and what a challenge fasting had been for her, yet how good she felt inside. After a short visit and further teaching, I had the opportunity to anoint Do Young with oil. I had been working hard all day to memorize the anointing prayer in Korean. Elder Rife and I then joined together as he sealed the anointing. The spirit was strong as we finished. The Chang's both had tears of gratitude running down their cheeks as they felt the special spirit that visited their humble home that evening.
As we departed, Elder Rife once again expressed the importance of faith and told the couple their child would be healed through their faithfulness. The following evening we paid another visit and were overjoyed to find little Do Young's burn had formed a scab and the infection had subsided. Within a week, all that was left was a red scar that had once been a third degree burn. I learned, by first hand experience, that our Heavenly Father loves all his children, especially the meek and humble Chang family in Seoul, Korea, and that through the power of the priesthood great things can and do happen. (Craig Drew, Personal History)
Oh yes, brothers and sisters, great things can and do happen. There is no question that prayer brings down the powers of heaven in miraculous ways as evidenced by the above account. However, the ongoing day-to-day fruits of prayer are usually manifested quietly in the inner-reaches of your heart.
A Korean Queen
Another account from Korea comes from a close and dear missionary companion of mine, David A. Strebe. He writes in his personal history,
We were walking up the dirt road to reach the group of homes at the top of the hill. It was dry and very warm. Everything was hard and so very dry. The monsoon rains had not yet begun for the summer. The only moisture was in a shallow ditch at the side of the road.
The mud in the ditch was black as tar and had an odor all of its own. I didn't notice the ditch and stepped into the black smelly slime which oozed into my shoe. We had several stops to make, several miles to go, and I was really in a dilemma.
Below us, coming up the hill, was a Korean lady. She had a yoke across her shoulders. On each end of the yoke hung a five gallon bucket filled with water. In 1959, most homes in Seoul, Korea had no water. Drinking water had to be carried, sometimes for long distances.
What a heavy burden she carried.
When she came up to me, she noticed the grimy predicament that I was in. Without a word, she put down her load. To my amazement, she knelt in the dirt in front of me, lifted my foot and removed my shoe and sock. Patiently, she cleaned the sock and shoe with the precious water she had carried so far. When she was satisfied that the shoe and sock were as clean as she could make them, she again lifted my foot and washed it. Then she dried it with the hem of her long dress. She restored sock and shoe to my foot. I was overwhelmed, overcome with gratitude.
"Thank you so much," I said, "What can I do for you?"
"Nothing," she replied meekly.
"Please, may I carry your burden to your home?"
"No. My neighbors will mock me."
"Oh, please let me do something."
"No. My children will laugh at me."
"May I come to your home and offer a prayer?"
"No. My husband will beat me. I am just a dog."
"Oh no! Not so sister," I cried.
Seemingly there was nothing to do for this wonderful lady. As she knelt before me to finish tying my shoe, I laid my hands on her head, and said a prayer, and gave her a blessing. I blessed her that God's influence would come to her in this life, and that honor would come to her in the life hereafter. I promised her that some day she would be honored as a queen, "in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." (David A. Strebe, Personal History)
Prayer, extremely powerful in the lives of others
Most often, our prayers are directed heavenward for someone else. Just as Elder Strebe blessed and prayed for this dear lady-perhaps the very best thing he could have ever done in those circumstances--you and I are constantly pleading through prayer for others. So often, we speak and testify concerning what prayer has done for us. But we can also give a resounding "hallelujah" for the miraculous intervention we have seen come into the lives of loved ones, family members, investigators, even roommates, in answer to prayer.
Petitions regarding macro issues such as praying for our government leaders, for the welfare of nations, for rain in due season, and for our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, also can make a significance difference. For the Lord has spoken on this issue, as He declares in The Book of Mormon, Alma 10:22-23:
Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction . . .
But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared.
Did you get that? The prayers of the righteous, that is, those seeking to live the gospel, were the means of sparing from destruction an entire nation. Don't forget to pray and to pray mightily for our world. We live in such perilous times. Yes, your little prayers can make a big difference.
A Lesson Learned
I had the special opportunity for several years to supervise the work of about 85 seminary and institute teachers here in Eastern Idaho. One of the great lessons I learned, among many, came as I interviewed these teachers and their spouses. I would inquire as to their well-being and that of their families. I found that not one was free from some type of burden - sickness, financial challenges, a disobedient child, deep concerns about students, etc.
Often, at the conclusion of those interviews, I would promise the couple that I would remember them in my prayers. As I would leave those interviews, and drive away from the building, I would talk with the Lord. "Oh, Lord, bless this dear couple. They are trying so diligently and yet they are burdened heavily. Please, oh please, be with them."
What was the lesson I learned? I felt the Spirit time and time again reassuring me that prayers really work, that my prayers would make a difference. Brothers and Sisters, your prayers for others really make a difference. Never give up praying, never! Note this profound counsel from the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 32:8-9:
. . . For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.
But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always and not faint. (2 Nephi 32:8-9)
An Experience of a seminary teacher
I remember on one occasion visiting with a seminary teacher, and he told me of the following experience he had with his very young daughter. Of course, as a priesthood holder father often does, he had blessed his daughter on several occasions when she had been ill.
One day, he was not feeling well and was in bed. His little daughter came to him and asked, "Daddy, can I give you a blessing?" His reply was something like, "Sure, would you like to pray for me." The prayers that had been most impressed on her mind, which she had given, were prayers to bless the food. So, she began her prayer for her father with, "Heavenly Father, please bless this food." And my seminary teacher colleague assured me that, indeed, Heavenly Father did "bless the food" that day.
You may sometimes feel that you are inadequate in prayer, that perhaps you don't say the right things. Don't worry, God knows your heart, and he will . . . "bless this food."
Ask and ye shall receive," is a very strong promise, wouldn't you say. When you loft a prayer heavenward, something is bound to happen, for you and/or others for whom you have concern. Be of good cheer and do not fear.
A personal experience in Japan
My wife, Carol-whom I love so much- and I spent five years living in Asia where I was serving in the Asia North Area Presidency. On one occasion, I was presiding over a conference of the Tokyo East Stake. President Hosoya, the stake president, a wonderful man, had arranged for me to interview some members of the Church who had not participated in Church activity for a number of years.
While I was waiting for one man to visit with me, I decided I would take my Book of Mormon and just let the pages fall open. Maybe you have done that. Let it fall open where it may and read the opened pages to see if there is a timely message there for you.
My book fell open to Mosiah 27. I prayerfully wondered if there was a message in this chapter which might apply to the young man I was about to interview. I read to myself verse 14 of Chapter 27. Here is how it reads:
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.
What a marvelous demonstration of the power of faith-filled prayers uttered in behalf of others, in this case, in behalf of Alma the Younger, by his father, Alma. I wondered, "Will this apply to the brother I am about to meet?"
A young man entered the room. To my surprise, he was not Japanese, but was from another country. We will call him Kevin. He had served a mission in Japan, and, after returning home, had then returned to Japan to marry a recent convert. She was, as yet, shallow in the faith, and they had been out of mainstream church activity for about five years.
I said to him, "Kevin, you are a pretty brave guy." He responded, "Why do you say that?"
"Well, to come here to meet with a general authority can be an intimidating thing. How did you get the courage to come?"
"I just knew that I had to," was his sincere response.
I then told him that prior to meeting with him I had been praying and had opened the scriptures at random, and that my eyes fell on Mosiah 27:14. I requested that we read it to see if it had anything to do with our being together that day. We recalled Nephi's counsel that when we read the scriptures, we should liken them unto ourselves that we may have hope.(1 Nephi 19:23-24)
One way to liken a scripture to yourself is to put your name into that scripture as you read it. So we started out by paraphrasing Mosiah 27:14 in this manner.
And again, the angel said: [I then indicated that I guessed that I was the angel, not much to look at but the only one available.] So we started over. And again Elder Brown said, the Lord has heard the prayers of his people, [Kevin], and also the prayers of his servant . . . who is thy father, [Kevin]; for he [your father] has prayed with much faith oncerning thee that thou [Kevin] mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I [Elder Brown] come to convince thee [Kevin] of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants [your father and mother] might be answered according to their faith (Mosiah 27:14, emphasis added).
Suddenly, that scripture had become very personal for Kevin. Then, I said to him, "Kevin, your father prayed you here today, didn't he?" He responded with some emotion, "I'm sure he did."
"Is your father active in the Church?"
"Oh, yes," he responded. "In fact, he and my mother are filling a temple mission right now." I gave him a blessing. It was a special moment, a moment in which the Lord had answered the fervent prayers of a father and mother, and also the prayer of one of his servants who happened to be in a position to help to answer those prayers that day.
Your prayers make a big difference, Brothers and Sisters. Petition your God for your needs. Plead with Him in faith to bless others for whom you have deep anxieties. Ask Him to lighten your heavy heart. Plead for help, in math, even!
Pray always unto the Father in My Name
I conclude with what is the most important doctrine related to powerful prayer that I know. I illustrate with another account from Asia.
President Darryl Harris, Seoul Mission President, and I had just concluded a fireside for investigators in the Seoul Stake Center. Following the meeting, two sister missionaries came up to introduce themselves, one, a Korean sister, and the other, Sister Kristi K. Fielding. They were delightful, full of sparkle, as most lady missionaries tend to be. Following our conversation, they exited, hurrying back to their apartment before the "witching hour" of 9:30 p.m. You returned missionaries know what I mean.
A few minutes later, an Elder came running into the chapel to tell us that something had happened to Sister Fielding. We hurried outside only to find her screaming, her body jerking in strange gyrations. When she saw us, she screamed at us. She wanted nothing to do with us. This was not the same Sister we had just been speaking with.
President Harris and I decided to try to get her into the mission van. She resisted. Finally, we were able to force her into the van, but she crawled down into the space between the back seats with her back toward us. We determined that we would attempt to give her a blessing. For what followed, I read from a letter Sister Fielding wrote to me on March 21, 1998.
I would like to write a letter of thanks for the blessing you gave me on Friday, March 20. It's hard to describe the feeling that was inside me, but it was almost identical to the feeling of Joseph Smith when he went to the grove to pray.
Then she quoted from Joseph Smith's account in Joseph Smith-History 1:15, one with which you are all familiar:
"I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction." (Joseph Smith History 1:15)
She, then, writes:
I don't remember much of your blessing, but I remember you saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ." The minute I heard that name, everything went calm. I felt at peace- I felt the light come back . . . I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for his atonement . . .This gospel is so true. I love it! Love Always, Sister Kristi K. Fielding
The Lord has said, in fact He has commanded, as recorded in Moses 5:8:
Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. (Moses 5:8)
As you use this sacred, wonderful name, the name of our beloved Savior, when you pray, you connect with the powers of heaven. The next time you pray, really pray in his holy name, in the name of Jesus Christ. As you purposely and sincerely use that Name, you will feel something, a witness that someone is listening, that you are praying with power, that this prayer will reach its destination. You will feel the warmth of His love.
An Experience in Brigham City, Utah
We began our seminary teaching career in Brigham City, Utah. Another couple, Arvil and Karen Hemenway, were beginning there as well. Karen told us of an experience they had had with their daughter, Kim. Kim had just learned how to count to ten. You know how parents are. They were so proud that they called grandma on the telephone so that Kim could demonstrate her newly acquired counting skills. Little Kim asked grandma,
"Grandma, would you like me to count to ten for you?" Of course grandma said yes. So Kimmie began to count, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten . . . in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
As Latter-day Saints, we use this sacred name of Jesus Christ often. Be careful. You are on holy ground when you use it. One of the Ten Commandments uttered to Moses and all of Israel from Mt. Sinai was,
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD, thy God, in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7)
Properly used in prayer, this special name becomes a passport to heaven. Do not thoughtlessly and repetitiously use it just as a means to get out of a talk, a testimony, or a prayer. It may well be the very most important part of your prayer. I wish I had more time to discuss this with you. Ponder the principle. Study it. Really pray, teach, and testify in His holy name.
If you are deeply concerned about your mother's health at this time, pray for her in the name of Jesus Christ. If your little brother is struggling to find a testimony, does not want to serve a mission, or is heading a direction spiritually that deeply worries you, pray for him in the name of Jesus Christ. You priesthood holders, the next time you have the opportunity to administer to someone, really do it in the name of Jesus Christ. Some of you are right now have heavy hearts. You are hurting. Plead for help in the name of Jesus Christ. Power will come, the heavens will open, the Father will hear, and the powers of heaven will be activated in your behalf.
Testimony
I thank our Lord for this powerful means of communication-prayer, offered in the name of His Son! I know He hears. I know He answers prayers for He has answered mine on more occasions than I can even remember. I know that His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior and Redeemer. I witness that to you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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