• Home
  • Blog
  • Blog Archives
    • Post By Speaker >
      • Current First Presidency >
        • Nelson
        • Oaks
        • Eyring
      • Current Quorum of the Twelve >
        • Ballard
        • Holland
        • Uchtdorf
        • Bednar
        • Cook
        • Christofferson
        • Andersen
        • Rasband
        • Stevenson
        • Renlund
        • Gong
        • Soares
      • Previous Apostles and Prophets >
        • Monson
        • Hales
    • Posts By Conference >
      • April 2018 General Conference
      • October 2017 General Conference
      • April 2017 General Conference
      • October 2016 General Conference
      • April 2016 General Conference
    • First Presidency Messages >
      • Thomas S. Monson
      • Henry B. Eyring
      • Dieter F. Uchtdorf
    • Christmas Devotionals >
      • December 2016
    • Bookshelf Plus >
      • Devotional Talks
  • Stories
    • Stories - Apr 2017
    • Stories - Oct 2016
    • Stories - Apr 2016
  • Donate
LDSCONF.BLOG
Follow Us

Eyring - Prayer - October 2001

9/8/2016

Comments

 
President Eyring speaks at General Conference following the events of September 11th, 2001.  He references the troubled times we live in and the recent turning to prayer that he has observed in the world to try to make sense of the things that are happening.  President Eyring speaks of prayer and the need for God in our lives to help us through.
  • In times of tragedy and danger, people turn to God in prayer.

He notes that as prayers are answered, we tend to be less grateful for the blessings of heaven.
  • Dependence on God can fade quickly when prayers are answered. And when the trouble lessens, so do the prayers.

He notes:
  • Three causes for the sad drift away from humble prayer.
    • First, while God implores us to pray, the enemy of our souls belittles and then derides it.
    • Second, God is forgotten out of vanity.
      • Pride creates a noise within us which makes the quiet voice of the Spirit hard to hear.
    • [God and the Savior] do not compel us.
      • We are spirit children of a loving Heavenly Father who placed us in mortality to see if we would choose—freely choose—to keep His commandments and come unto His Beloved Son. They do not compel us. They cannot, for that would interfere with the plan of happiness. And so there is in us a God-given desire to be responsible for our own choices. That desire to make our own choices is part of the upward pull toward eternal life. But it can, if we see life only through our mortal eyes, make dependence on God difficult or even impossible when we feel such a powerful desire to be independent.

As we have discussed many times, our greatest demonstration of discipleship is when we submit our agency to God.
  • Those who submit like a child do it because they know that the Father wants only the happiness of His children and that only He knows the way.
Our desire to follow God is demonstrated in our love for Him.  When we put our actions in line with what He wants, we show our trust and love for Him.
  • Our hearts can only be drawn out to God when they are filled with love for Him and trust in His goodness.

President Eyring discusses Joseph Smith as the perfect example of somehow we prays with faith and truly has a desire to do whatever the Lord tell him to do when we gets an answer.  We need to be more life Joseph in our lives if we are to unlock the powers of heaven through prayer.
  • He prayed with the intent not only to listen but to obey. He did not ask only to know the truth. He was committed to act upon whatever God would communicate to him. His written account makes clear that he prayed with real intent, determined to comply with whatever answer he received.
  • Joseph Smith’s mission was unique, yet his humble prayer can be a helpful model for us. He began, as we must, with faith in a loving God who can and wants to communicate with us and help us. That faith was rooted in impressions which came to him as he pondered the words of God’s servants in the scriptures. We can and must go often and carefully to the word of God. If we become casual in our study of the scriptures, we will become casual in our prayers.
  • We may not cease to pray, but our prayers will become more repetitive, more mechanical, lacking real intent. Our hearts cannot be drawn out to a God we do not know, and the scriptures and the words of living prophets help us know Him. As we know Him better, we love Him more.
  • We must also serve Him to love Him. Joseph Smith did that, finally surrendering life itself in His service. Joseph prayed with the intent to obey. That obedience always includes service to others. Service in God’s work allows us to feel a part of what He feels and come to know Him.

To make our prayers more meaningful, we need to start by understanding the true nature of God.  We find that in the scriptures.
  • If you ponder the scriptures and begin to do what you covenanted with God to do, I can promise you that you will feel more love for God and more of His love for you. And with that, your prayers will come from the heart, full of thanks and of pleading. You will feel a greater dependence on God. You will find the courage and the determination to act in His service, without fear and with peace in your heart. You will pray always. And you will not forget Him, no matter what the future brings.

This talk reminds us of the simple truths of prayer.  What made an impression on me is that when we pray, we need to make sure that we are willing to do whatever the Lord asks us to do to have our prayers answered.  Our desire to have our prayers answered needs to come with a full commitment to do whatever the Lord asks us to do.  If we are not willing to follow and obey, we are less likely to have the blessings of heaven be given to us.  I am going to try to make my prayers more meaningful by asking God what I can do to help others in need.  Then as I listen, I need to make sure I am willing to do whatever the Lord asks me to do to.  This step is an important point in becoming a better disciple of the Savior.
Comments

    Our Mission

    Wherefore we search the prophets... and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken. (Jacob 4:6)

    Upcoming Blogs:

    Oaks - October 2000
         The Challenge to Become
    Oaks - April 2001
         Focus and Priorities
    Oaks - October 2001
         Sharing the Gospel
    Oaks - April 2002
         The Gospel in Our Lives
    Soares - October 2005
         "Feed My Sheep"
    Picture
    Google
    Custom Search

    Categories

    All
    Aburto
    Alonso
    Andersen
    April 1975
    April 1976
    April 1979
    April 1980
    April 1981
    April 1983
    April 1985
    April 1986
    April 1987
    April 1988
    April 1989
    April 1990
    April 1991
    April 1992
    April 1993
    April 1994
    April 1995
    April 1996
    April 1997
    April 1998
    April 1999
    April 2000
    April 2001
    April 2002
    April-2003
    April-2004
    April 2005
    April 2006
    April 2007
    April 2008
    April 2009
    April 2010
    April 2011
    April 2012
    April 2013
    April 2014
    April 2015
    April 2016
    April 2017
    April 2018
    Ardern
    Arnold
    Ashton
    Ballard
    Bangerter
    Bassett
    Bednar
    Bingham
    Bookshelf Plus
    Bragg
    Brough
    Burton
    Bytheway
    Callister
    Carl B. Cook
    Causse
    Choi
    Christensen
    Christmas Devotional
    Christofferson
    Clayton
    Clayton-W
    Cook
    Cordon
    Cornish
    Costa
    Curtis
    Davies
    December 2016
    De Feo
    Duncan
    Dunn
    Durham
    Durrant
    Echo Hawk
    Ellis
    Esplin
    Eubank
    Evans
    Eyring
    First Presidency Message
    Godoy
    Gong
    Grow
    Guest Blogger: @pattypooh67
    Haleck
    Hales
    Hallstrom
    Holland
    Holmes
    Hoyos
    January 2017
    Johnson
    Jones
    Kearon
    Koch
    Marriott
    Maynes
    Mazzagardi
    McConkie
    Meurs
    Monson
    Nattress
    Nelson
    Oaks
    October 1975
    October 1976
    October 1978
    October 1980
    October 1981
    October 1983
    October 1984
    October 1985
    October 1986
    October 1987
    October 1988
    October 1989
    October 1990
    October 1991
    October 1992
    October 1993
    October 1994
    October 1995
    October 1996
    October 1997
    October 1998
    October 1999
    October 2000
    October 2001
    October 2002
    October 2003
    October 2004
    October 2005
    October 2006
    October 2007
    October 2008
    October 2009
    October 2010
    October 2011
    October 2012
    October 2013
    October 2014
    October 2015
    October 2016
    October 2017
    October 2018
    Oscarson
    Owen
    Palmer
    Parrella
    Pingree
    Rasband
    Reeves
    Renlund
    Richards
    Robbins
    Sabin
    Schmutz
    Snow
    Soares
    Stephens
    Stevenson
    Su'a
    Taylor
    The Living Christ
    Uceda
    Uchtdorf
    VCordon
    Waddell
    Wakolo
    Wilson
    Worldwide Devotional
    Yamashita
    Zivic
    Zwick

    Archives

    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Contact Us

    Contact SuperScriptures at SuperScriptures@gmail.com

    RSS Feed

    Visit our sponsors
    Missionary Care Packages by Called2Serve.com
    Freshly baked cookies, cinnamon rolls, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, candy, and much more. Create your own missionary care package including a free letter or greeting card. Free MTC and discounted FedEx delivery.
Home
About
Contact