BYU-Hawaii Devotional: 'The power of personal prayer'
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Personal prayer is one of the most significant challenges facing members of the Church, Elder Kevin W. Pearson said during a BYU-Hawaii Devotional on May 17 in the Cannon Activities Center on the university's campus.
"I wish to state that at the outset of our discussion that I have absolute evidence in my own life that God is our loving Heavenly Father and does in fact hear and answer our prayers," he said. "I will, therefore, speak to you from personal knowledge and experience."
Elder Pearson explored the principle of prayer by addressing three basic questions.
1. What is the principle of personal prayer?
"To pray is to speak with God, the Eternal Father of our spirits — not at Him but with Him," he said. "He loves each of us unconditionally and is full of mercy and perfect understanding. He knows everything about us. He knows what we need, even when we can only see what we want. He has infinite power and capacity to sustain and guide us. He is always willing to forgive us and to help us in all things, both temporal and spiritual."
Individuals are able to speak to Him vocally or by forming thoughts and expressions in their minds and hearts, Elder Pearson said.
"Personal prayers should be solemn, sacred expressions of praise and gratitude; heartfelt petitions for specific needs and desires; humble, contrite confessions and requests for cleansing forgiveness; pleadings for comfort, direction and revelation," he said. "These expressions often cause us to pour out our very souls to our loving Heavenly Father."
Prayer is often a brief communication, but it can be an open and continuous dialog all throughout the day and night. It is not a negotiation process, he said.
"It is an alignment process. We don't move God to our point of view," he said. "Prayer is less about changing our circumstances and more about changing us. It is about seeking His will and asking for His help to do what we need to do. When we align our will with Heavenly Father's will, answers and spiritual power will flow more freely."
2. Why is personal prayer essential?
Because individuals are physically and spiritually separated from God's presence while on earth, they are able to access their Heavenly Father through prayer. Prayer is an essential and enabling spiritual link between God and man, he said; without it repentance, forgiveness, faith and spiritual power to avoid temptation and overcome trials would be unavailable.
"With the power of prayer, all things are possible," he said. "That is the divine pattern. Prayers enable personal revelation and spiritual gifts through the Holy Ghost. It is the spiritual channel made available to all of God's children giving us constant access to our Eternal Father, His Beloved Son, and the Holy Ghost."
It is through prayer, that individuals are able to gain a testimony of the Restored Gospel, the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith.
3. How can we make our personal prayers more effective and meaningful?
Elder Pearson spoke of some of the obstacles keeping individuals from having more meaningful prayer. Physical, mental and emotional fatigue; disobedience, personal unworthiness and pride; and a lack of focus and purpose are some of the things he mentioned.
"Meaningful prayer requires effort," he said. "It is spiritual work preceded by mental and spiritual preparation. If we don't take the time to humble ourselves and carefully consider that we are about to call upon God the Eternal Father in the name of Christ, we will miss the very essence of the divine pattern established to bless us."
Elder Pearson spoke specifically about getting proper rest by going to bed and waking up at a decent hour.
"Schedule sufficient time to carefully and humbly communicate the deepest desires of your heart with Heavenly Father. ... Praying vocally helps me focus my prayers and listen to myself without wandering mentally."
Personal prayer is meant to be a revelatory process, he said.
"Prayer is essential to the process of revelation," he noted. "Inspired questions bring greater focus, purpose and meaning to our prayers. If you want to receive more personal revelation through your prayers, you may want to think about what questions you are asking."
Most important, the purpose of prayer is to learn to submit to the will of Heavenly Father, he said. Elder Pearson shared a personal experience of when he was praying for his son to be healed, rather than for the will of Heavenly Father to be done. It was through that experience he was able to understand the importance of prayer in developing his will to be in harmony with that of God.
"The purpose of prayer was not to tell Heavenly Father what to do, rather to find out what He would have me do and learn. I needed to align my will with His."
It was through that experience that Elder Pearson was able to understand that through prayer, Heavenly Father heard and answered his prayers no matter how things ultimately worked out. It is through prayer that individuals are able to learn and understand, along with gain great spiritual power and revelation for their lives.
"I have come to know through this experience and countless others since that He does in fact 'hear and answer every child's prayer,'" he said. "I have learned that there is great power in personal prayer. I have learned to accept answers that are contrary to what I want, trusting that Heavenly Father knows what I need."
