Lesson Review
Ezra Taft Benson
Chapter 2: Pray Always
President Ezra Taft Benson said of prayer, “There is
power in prayer. All things are possible
through prayer. It was through prayer
that the heavens were opened in this dispensation. The prayer of a boy fourteen
years of age, in the Sacred Grove, opened a new gospel dispensation, and
brought forth a vision of the Father and the Son, as they appeared as glorified
heavenly beings before the boy, Joseph.”
He further stated that “[i]f we would advance in
holiness – increase in favor with God – nothing can take the place of
prayer. And so I adjure to you to give
prayer – daily prayer – secret prayer – a foremost place in your lives. Let no
day pass without it. Communication with
the Almighty has been a source of strength, inspiration, and enlightenment to
men and women through the world’s history who have shaped the destinies of
individuals and nations for good.”
Questions to ponder:
How have you been blessed as a result of personal prayer? When have you seen family prayer lead to
blessings?
President
Benson offers five ways to improve our communication with our Heavenly Father:
1.
We should pray frequently. We should be alone with
our Heavenly Father at least two or three times each day—“morning, mid-day, and
evening,” as the scripture indicates. (Alma 34:21.)
In addition, we are told to pray always. (See 2 Ne. 32:9;
D&C
88:126.) This means that our hearts should be full, drawn out in prayer
unto our Heavenly Father continually. (See Alma 34:27.)
2.
We should find an appropriate place where we can meditate
and pray. We are admonished that this should be “in [our] closets, and
[our] secret places, and in [our] wilderness.” (Alma 34:26.)
That is, it should be free from distraction, in secret. (See 3 Ne.
13:5–6.)
3.
We should prepare ourselves for prayer. If we do
not feel like praying, then we should pray until we do feel like praying. We
should be humble. (See D&C
112:10.) We should pray for forgiveness and
mercy. (See Alma
34:17–18.) We must forgive anyone against whom we have bad feelings. (See Mark 11:25.)
Yet the scriptures warn that our prayers will be vain if we “turn away the
needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart [not] of
[our] substance.” (Alma 34:28.)
4.
Our prayers should be meaningful and pertinent. We
should avoid using the same phrases in each prayer. Any of us would become
offended if a friend said the same words to us each day, treated the
conversation as a chore, and could hardly wait to finish in order to turn on
the television set and forget us. …
For
what should we pray? We should pray about our work, against the power of our
enemies and the devil, for our welfare and the welfare of those around us. We
should counsel with the Lord regarding all our decisions and activities. (See Alma
37:36–37.) We should be grateful enough to give thanks for all we have.
(See D&C
59:21.) We should confess His hand in all things. Ingratitude is one of our
great sins.
The
Lord has declared in modern revelation: “And he who receiveth all things with
thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be
added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.” (D&C
78:19.)
We
should ask for what we need, taking care that we not ask for things that would
be to our detriment. (See James 4:3.) We
should ask for strength to overcome our problems. (See Alma
31:31–33.) We should pray for the inspiration and well-being of the
President of the Church, the General Authorities, our stake president, our
bishop, our quorum president, our home teachers, family members, and our civic
leaders. Other suggestions could be made, but with the help of the Holy Ghost we will
know about what we should pray. (See Rom. 8:26–27.)
5.
After making a request through prayer, we have a
responsibility to assist in its being granted. We should listen. Perhaps
while we are on our knees, the Lord wants to counsel us.
Question
to ponder: What will we do, what changes
will we make, to follow President Benson’s counsel?
