ENOS - How can I Improve my Prayers?
1. ALONE: Enos made his first great petition while he was hunting alone.
Joseph Smith said, “After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself
alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God.”
President Kimball said “We, too, ought to find, where possible, a
room, a corner, a closet, a place where we can “retire” to “pray vocally” in secret.” (Ensign, Oct. 1981, p. 4)
David O. McKay
“In
secret prayer go into the room, close the door, pull down the shades, and kneel in the center of the room. For a period of five minutes or so, say nothing. Just think of what God has done for you.”
2. ALOUD: Enos knelt before his maker and “cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication. . . . I did
raise my voice high that it reached the heavens”(Enos 1:4)
Nearly 100 times in the Book of Mormon some form of the verb "to cry" is used to denote prayer. A "cry" is usually vocal.
President Spencer W. Kimball said:
We recall the many times the Lord instructs us to pray vocally. "And again, I command thee that thou shalt
pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private. (D&C 19:28.)
I have found great power in praying aloud. I have found that
vocal prayer is especially powerful because it helps me concentrate my thoughts…If at all possible, when I am on my knees I try to pray aloud.” (Mary Jane Woodger – What I have learned about Mighty Prayer – Dec. 2006 Ensign)
3. A LOT: Not all answers come at the first petition. Our repeated requests are not an effort to change the Lord,
but to change ourselves. Read the seventh paragraph in the entry under Prayer in the Bible Dictionary. We are not trying to get the Lord ready to answer our prayer, but to get ourselves ready to receive the answer he wants to give us.
Vaughn J. Featherstone
“Mental wrestling can take the form of prolonged prayer. It may be necessary to pray longer and harder sometimes in order to get the feeling that you have been heard. You remember the case of Enos and his day-long prayer. Of course, that was an extreme case involving a future prophet of God. If you ever get where you need to pray all day long, you will know it and the power will be given to you. It isn't the sort of thing you just set out to do because you would like to hear a voice like Enos did. Still, Enos's example is one you should ponder as you think of gaining the determination to think and communicate with God.” (Commitment, p. 30)
Spencer W. Kimball - Too many members of the church expect a MILLION DOLLAR answer to a TEN CENT Prayer.
Harold B. Lee
“I once read that scripture (about Enos praying all day and night) to a woman who laughed and said, ‘Imagine anybody praying all night and all day.’ I replied, ‘My dear sister, I hope you never have to come to a time where you have a problem so great that you have to so humble yourself. I have; I have prayed all day and all night and all the next day and all the next night, not always on my knees but praying constantly for a blessing that I needed most.’ (Stand Ye in Holy Places: Selected Sermons and Writings of President Harold B. Lee, p. 246)
Did Enos “Literally” Stay on His Knees for days?“It is doubtful that this and like texts were intended to convey the idea that such persons involved themselves in formal and uninterrupted prayer for such extended times. Paul wrote that we ought to pray without ceasing. In so writing he did not intend that we never get off our knees, but rather that we retain the spirit of prayer at all times, that we have, as it were, a prayer in our hearts. …It would be unfortunate if one were to suppose that the experience recorded herein- as to both the tenacity of his spiritual quest and the response of heaven- is common to or typical of daily prayer.
‘Never at any time have our prophets and Apostles taught or endorsed the inordinate and intemperate zeal that encourages endless, sometimes day-long prayers.’ Times of pentecost and other spiritual outpourings are the more treasured because they are not a part of every day.” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 2, p. 97))
“Any time we repeat an activity frequently, we face two possibilities: stagnation or growth.” Two students may each study the piano for the same number of years, but while one just “thumps it through,” filling his prescribed practice time with thoughtless repetitions, the other becomes a much better pianist because he carefully and attentively seeks to make each playing of a piece much better than the last.”
(Karen Lynn – “Prayer – The Heart of the Sabbath” - Ensign, Jan. 1978 pg. 30)
PRAYER PLATEAU -“A person or a family may pray regularly, may utter or participate in a dozen prayers and yet stay for months or years on a “PRAYER PLATEAU” – where words and expressions remain the same, communication with our Heavenly Father does not seem to become more inspiring or meaningful, and moments that should be sacred are in fact just ordinary and mechanical.”
(Karen Lynn – “Prayer – The Heart of the Sabbath - Ensign, Jan. 1978 pg. 30)
PRAY FOR 15 MINUTES A DAY
Although we read in the scriptures of many who prayed for an extended period of time – Enos for example, prayed “all the day long” and into the night. Many of us seem to be unable to pray for more than a few minutes. One religion teacher suggested to his class that they spend at least fifteen minutes a day in personal prayer. That seemed to many class members unreasonably long! One student came up to him later and said, “I just don’t believe I can think of that much to say.” The teacher asked, “Don’t you spend at least that much time every day talking to your roommate?” “Of course,” the young woman replied. “Then give some thought,” said the teacher, “As to why it is you have more to talk over with your roommate than you do with the Lord.” (Karen Lynn – “Prayer – The Heart of the Sabbath” - Ensign, Jan. 1978 pg. 30)
PRE-PACKAGED PHRASES
Avoid clichés and formulas that have no meaning. Sometimes we comply with our “PRAYER OBLIGATIONS” by reciting phrases that are so trite and repetitious that they do not really represent our feelings and thoughts. These phrases are “PREPACKAGED” for convenience; they do not really reflect the problems or blessings of a particular day and they certainly do not reflect profound spiritual progress.
(Karen Lynn – “Prayer – The Heart of the Sabbath” - Ensign, Jan. 1978 pg. 30)
QUALITY VS QUANTITY PRAYERS
a. Set aside a “set-time for family prayer” – chiming of the clock
b. May need 2 Family Prayers at night (level of maturity)
c. Children’s personal prayers – When do we start?
d. Don’t do it in living room with everyone around (teach privacy)
e. Couple Prayers – when to start?
f. Family prayer in morning – may need 2 or 3 to get everyone
There was a time when I would have looked upon a “set-time family prayer’ as a deadening routine. But now that I am the mother of a large family, I feel otherwise. I believe that one of my family’s most important spiritual weapons’ is a schedule for prayer; our set times for morning and evening prayers (and it’s actually the chiming of the clock that is our sign to gather) spotlight spiritual moments that we know will occur no matter what distractions or worries the day may hold.
(Karen Lynn)
EXPRESSING GratitudeThe Lord is pleased when we appreciate the blessings he has ALREADY given us. Pres. Kimball told of a giving a woman a priesthood blessing and telling her that she would be healed of her malady. A few weeks later, the woman came back, angry that she hadn’t yet been healed. President Kimball responded: “Now I understand why you have not been blessed. You must be patient, do your part and EXPRESS GRATITUTDE for the smallest improvement noted.” She repented, did as he counseled, and was eventually healed. We should express CONSTANT gratitude for even the smallest increment of blessing.
(Mary Jane Woodger – What I have learned about Mighty Prayer – Dec. 2006 Ensign)COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS - Several years ago I felt that, despite all my efforts, I simply wasn't feeling happy. I was trying my best to live righteously, but it didn't seem to be paying off. As I would go to bed each evening, I would plead with my Heavenly Father to lift my feelings of discouragement. But upon my awakening each morning, many burdens continued to weigh upon me. I thought perhaps I wouldn't ever feel joyful again. One evening as I began my familiar "please help-me-feel-happy" prayer, a strong impression prompted me to quit asking for things and instead to offer thanks. The Spirit distinctly directed me to begin to thank Heavenly Father for each one of my blessings. I followed the prompting and slowly began to name my blessings, one at a time. I was very specific. I began to express thanks for the people I love, mentioning each by name. Every one of them! I told the Lord why they were a blessing to me. I went back as far as my memory would allow and expressed thanks for things that happened in elementary school. I told Father in Heaven how thankful I was that Mrs. Naylor was my third grade teacher. I was reminded of those wonderful feelings I had as she taught me to love books. I thanked him for the Primary music leader who taught me to love to sing. My mind raced through years of pleasant memories. I began thanking Heavenly Father for everything that was going right with each one of my children. Gratitude for countless blessings poured out of my soul. As the Spirit directed me in that prayer of thanksgiving, the list of blessings grew longer and longer. Once-forgotten memories filled my soul with light and love. About two in the morning I awoke. I was still kneeling by the side of my bed. I had fallen asleep while offering a prayer of gratitude. Recollections of blessings continued to flow into my mind. Peacefully I climbed into bed. When I arose that morning, things looked different to me. The cloud was lifted. I recognized the hand of the Lord in my life and I was truly grateful. Blessings that I had so often taken for granted flooded my heart. Events fell into perspective. My vision ceased to focus o the few things that were going wrong and transferred to the myriad of things that were going right. A feeling of joy washed over me, and I began seeing "things as they really are." I realized the abundance of blessings that had always been there; blessings that outweighed the burdens! Gratitude had literally healed my soul, and I felt happy once again.
“Prayer of Thanks,” Ensign, Feb 2007, 63 by Larry HillarWhat began as a simple prayer of thanks opened my eyes to the immeasurable blessings I have received from the Lord.
There I was on my knees beside the bed, ready to say my personal prayers—prayers that were so often full of petitions and pleas. Now, however, the thought came into my heart that I needed to offer a prayer of thanks only. How long would such a prayer take? I didn’t know, but I did know that if I offered the usual short list of thanks, there would be little risk of falling asleep on my knees
. I paused for a while before starting and realized that I did need to make one request of the Lord—that He open my eyes to my blessings.
Beginning to pray, I found myself expressing thanks for the same things I always acknowledge in my prayers—my wife and children, my testimony and Church membership, and my health. But this time I found myself contemplating each of those blessings, pausing, allowing the Spirit to deepen my understanding. A pattern of prayer mingled with meditation began.
Giving thanks for my wife, I was led to a deeper realization of how much I owed to her deceased parents for the nurture that had produced this woman who is, in turn, such a blessing to me.
Expressing gratitude for my own parents brought thoughts of my more distant ancestors. Understanding flowed into my mind that they had endured lives much harder than mine. They had lived according to the light available to them in their time. Family traditions of goodness and honor produced the grandparents in Germany and the great-great-grandmother in England who accepted the message of the restored gospel.
Grateful for my testimony and Church membership, I then found myself thinking of how much I owed Joseph Smith and the great prophets before and since. And then came thoughts of my own humble teachers in Primary and Sunday School, in Aaronic Priesthood and seminary, who patiently taught the gospel to this smart-mouthed kid.
I’m no Enos (see
Enos 1:4), but for me this turned into a fairly long prayer because the Spirit continued prompting me. I am also no Enoch, who beheld all the inhabitants of the earth (see
Moses 7:21). But in my own limited way, I saw more clearly than ever how my life has been blessed by the goodness of countless others.
I was also left with the distinct impression that the flow of blessings into my life was deeper and broader than I could comprehend. As I gave thanks for my health, I understood that I had been protected and preserved innumerable times, that I had been blissfully unaware of the harmful infections I never contracted and the accidents that never happened because the hand of the Lord was over me. In how many other ways had I been blessed without even knowing?
Perhaps the answer won’t come until I stand to be judged and I see my life with penetrating clarity. Then, despite my present attempts to be gratefully aware, I expect to be astonished and overwhelmed. All of these lessons I learned from a prayer of thanks.”
4. ANSWER: After we have prepared ourselves and done “the right thing long enough,” the answers will come:
Boyd K. Packer:Sometimes you may struggle with a problem and not get an answer.
What could be wrong? It may be that you are not doing anything wrong. It may be that you have not done the right things long enough. Remember, you cannot force spiritual things. Sometimes we are confused simply because we won't take no for an answer. (Ensign, November 1979, p. 21.)
Prayer is Hard Work:. “I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God . . .” (Enos 1:2)
. “I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication” (Enos 1:4)
. “All the day long did I cry unto him” (Enos 1:4)
. “I did pour out my whole soul unto God. . .” (Enos 1:9)
. “while I was thus struggling in the spirit . . . (Enos 1:10)
. “I prayed unto him with many long strugglings . . .” (Enos 1:11)
. “After I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said . . .” 12
. “I cried unto him continually . . .” (Enos 1:15)
The message is that prayer—effective prayer—is hard work.
Bruce R. McConkie: - Never meant without a struggle
“It is not, never has been, and never will be the design and purpose of the Lord – however much we seek him in prayer – to answer all our problems and concerns WITHOUT struggle and effort on OUR part. This mortality is a probationary estate…We are being tested to see how we will respond in various situations; how we will decide issues; what course we will pursue while we are here walking, not by sight, but by faith.”
(Ensign, Jan. 1976 p. 11).
Richard L. Evans: Not like Aladdin’s lamp
“It is not the usual purpose of prayer to serve us like Aladdin’s lamp, to bring us ease without effort. Often the purpose of prayer is to give us strength to do what needs to be done, wisdom to see the way to solve our own problems, and ability to do our best in our tasks.”
(The Man and the Message – Richard L. Evans)
Neal A. Maxwell:
“God cannot, respond affirmatively to ALL our petitions with an unbroken chain of ‘yeses’. This would assume that all of our petitions are for that which is right. None of us are that wise!”
ANSWERS COME IN PACKETS - “Seldom will you receive a complete response (to your prayers) all at once. It will come a piece at a time, in PACKETS, so that you will grow in capacity. As each piece is followed in faith, you will be led to other portions until you have the whole answer. That pattern requires you to exercise faith in our Father’s capacity to respond. While sometimes it’s very hard, it results in significant personal growth. He will always hear your prayers and will invariably answer them.
(Richard Scott-Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer- April Conf. 2007)
ANSWER SELDOM COME ON KNEES
"His answers will seldom come while you are on your knees praying, even when you may plead for an immediate response. Rather he will prompt you in quiet moments when the Spirit can most effectively touch your mind and heart.”
God answer prayers in one of Three ways.
You can feel peace, comfort and assurance that your decision is right.
You can sense that unsettled feeling, (stupor of thought) indicating your choice is wrong.
This is the difficult one – you can feel no response.
“What do you do when you have no response? When you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to
EXPRESS THANKS when that occurs, for it is an EVIDENCE of his TRUST. When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, PROCEED with TRUST.
As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the STUPOR OF THOUGHT will come; indicating an improper choice, or the PEACE or the burning in the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust,
God will NOT LET YOU PROCEED TOO FAR without a WARNING IMPRESSION if you have made the WRONG DECISION.”
(Richard Scott-Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer- April Conf. 2007)
UNANSWERED PRAYERS – Neal A. Maxwell:“Petitioning in prayer has taught me, again and again, that the vault of heaven with all its’ blessings is opened by a combination lock.
1. One tumbler falls when there is FAITH
2. A second when there is PERSONAL RIGHTESOUNESS
3. The third and final tumbler falls only when what is sought
Is, in God’s judgment (not ours) right for us.
Sometimes we pound on the vault door for something we want very much and wonder why the door does not open. We would be very spoiled children if that vault door opened any more easily than it does.” (
New Era, April 1978, p. 6).
Pres. Kimball taught: Do our Part!
After praying, we must do our part to help answer the prayer. ‘When we pray for health we must live the laws of health and do all in our power to keep our bodies well and vigorous. We pray for protection and then take reasonable precaution to avoid danger. There must be woks with faith.’
(Faith Precedes the Miracles. P. 205)
HANDOUT GIVEN IN CLASS:
Steps to Making Prayer More MeaningfulPlace: Find a quiet place where you can be alone with no fear of interruption
Or being heard.
Time: Select a time when you won’t be too tired, too rushed, or too
Distracted. Early morning or evenings before it’s too late may
Be best. Prayers don’t always have to be exactly before retiring.
Preparation: Clear your mind of worldly things. Have a note pad to jot down
Things you need to remember to do, i.e, phone calls,
Assignments, people to talk to etc.
Prayer Itself:
a. Pray that the Spirit will help you to pray for that which is appropriate.
b. Pray out loud. You will think more clearly and make more sense. Pres.
Kimball challenged us to pray out loud (Oct. 1979 Con. Rep. p. 4) The
Lord also tells us to pray out loud. (D& C 12:28).
c. Avoid the temptation to do check list praying. Pray from your heart. Listen
What the Spirit tells you to pray for.
d. Do more “thanking” in your prayers. Search your heart for things you need
to be grateful for: Specific friends, things they have done for you, teachers
advisors, parents, even past prophets whose teachings and examples
have helped you. Be detailed and specific. Be grateful for experiences
and lessons you’ve learned. Recount past faith promoting experiences
and give thanks for them.
d. Talk with the Lord. Be detailed and specific. Talk to the Lord about things
That concern you. Tell him your feelings, your fears, your thoughts. Discuss your present life: classes, friends, dating, popularity, feelings of inferiority, athletics. Grades, competition, school work, ward callings, etc.
e. When seeking a specific answer, follow these steps suggested by Marion G. Romney:
1. Weigh alternative solutions (prayerfully).
2. Come to a conclusion which is best.
3. Submit it to the Lord in prayer.
4. Ask for the burning if it is right (D& C 9:7-9)
5. If no feeling, try again with the same procedure.
(Marion G. Romney, New Era, Oct. 1975 p. 34-35)
