But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Prayer is very personal. It is sacred communication with deity.
In a recent "Face to Face" broadcast with the youth of the Church, President Eyring and Elder Holland shared some thoughts about how to have more meaningful prayers. One of my friends recently wrote about some of Elder Holland's suggestions in a blog post. One suggestion was: "Picture yourself literally going before the throne of God. Remember who you're talking to! Really take prayer seriously. Take time once in a while to kneel in the middle of the room, not leaning up against a chair or bed, and just kneel there for a while before starting your prayer until you feel worthy to approach the throne of God" (https://thethingswecanlearn.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/making-the-time-on-your-knees-count/). What a powerful practice! When I pray, do I remember that I am kneeling before the God of the universe--a omniscient and omnipotent being? So far, I have tried this once since the broadcast. It reminded me of the importance of being reverent and listening for spiritual promptings. Another suggestion was to make sure our minds our clear and conscious when we pray. Elder Holland explained that he and Sister Holland used to set an earlier time in the evening to say their night time prayers as a couple, so they weren't as tired during the prayer. Both of Elder Holland's suggestions are ways that we can demonstrate to God that we take prayer and revelation seriously. My most sacred experiences with prayer have occurred when I really wanted an answer. Jesus explained that the first great commandment is to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37). I believe that the most meaningful prayers occur when we pray with all our hearts, souls, and minds. (This is why fasting, which constantly reminds us of our dependency on God, is so powerful.) Enos wrestled before God in prayer (Enos 1:2). Alma the younger fasted and prayed for many days (Alma 5:36). Jesus went into the mountains, where he could be free from distractions and feel closer to God, to pray (Matthew 14:23). Making my prayers more meaningful is a lifelong process. My desire is that I can come to see God as he really is and be receptive to his personal direction for me. I hope to make meaningful prayer a central part of my life and the lives of my family.
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And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles. Before choosing and calling his twelve disciples, Jesus went unto a mountain to pray. He continued all the night in prayer. Would I even have words to say after the first 30 minutes of praying to God? Jesus was an expert ponderer and an expert communicator. In today's busy world, it is so easy to avoid silence with distraction. Technology makes us ever-farther away from God's creations. It would do me good to spend time each day to ponder in silence. Just a minute or two of meditation would go a long way. It would also do me good to spend more time in prayer. I once had a roommate that spent a long time each night on his knees in prayer. I was always impressed by the length of his prayers. While I realize that the content of our prayers is more important than the length of our prayers, I do believe that Spiritual impressions require time and patience. By following Christ's example and putting more time into our prayers, our prayers can be more meaningful and we can be more receptive to God's answers. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. What was Jesus' house like? Words that come to mind: clean, organized, comfortable, humble, practical, well-lit. Would it be set apart from other houses, with a yard and garden? Or would it be in the center of a bustling downtown. While I can only guess, I picture it on the outskirts of town--close enough to receive visitors, but far enough to avoid unnecessary distractions and noise.
Today, scattered around the earth, are over 150 temples. A temple is literally the house of the Lord. "The Lord is in his holy temples." (Habakkuk 2:20). What are temples like? Clean, organized, glorious, beautiful, peaceful. quiet, well-lit, detail-focused, calm, peaceful. One cannot describe the Temple without describing the emotions felt therein. [For more information on LDS temples, including pictures and videos, see http://www.mormontemples.org/.] |
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For anyone interested, I have a professional blog titled The Instructional Designer's Toolkit where I share tools and inspiration for instructional designers and e-learning developers.
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