Supplication to God Daily

Mormon described two reasons that the Zoramites had dissented from the Nephites: “But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God, and his statutes, according to the law of Moses. Neither would they observe the performances of the church, to continue in prayer and supplication to God daily, that they might not enter into temptation” (Alma 31:9-10). They stopped keeping the commandments, and they stopped really praying. Of course, they did pray their memorized words at the top of the Rameumptom, but they had stopped daily supplication with a real desire to commune with God and stay connected with Him. I believe that is a key to our own faithfulness in the gospel; if we want to endure to the end, we have to continue in daily supplication to the Lord so that we can stay connected to Him and feel His Spirit with us. President Nelson taught this, “When should we pray? The Lord said, ‘Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good.’ Alma said, ‘Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God.’ We pray privately, with our families regularly, at mealtime, and in daily activities. Simply summarized, we are a praying people.” Nephi similarly encouraged us, “But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul” (2 Nephi 32:9). The Lord wants us to constantly reach out to Him in our minds and hearts, as well as in formal prayer. That is the key to overcoming Satan’s efforts to lead us astray: “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:5).

                We see how important prayer was for Alma throughout his ministry. He told the people of Zarahemla, “Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself” (Alma 5:46). When he struggled because of the wickedness of the people of Ammonihah, “Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance” (Alma 8:10). When he and Amulek were languishing in prison and suffering much, he cried out in prayer to the Lord: “How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance” (Alma 14:26). Later he rejoiced that God had answered his prayers: “When I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me” (Alma 29:10). When he saw the wickedness of the Zoramites, he likewise turned to the Lord in fervent prayer: “And he lifted up his voice to heaven, and cried, saying: O, how long, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that thy servants shall dwell here below in the flesh, to behold such gross wickedness among the children of men?” (Alma 31:26) He subsequently taught them the importance of prayer by quoting the words of Zenos: “Do ye remember to have read what Zenos, the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or worship? For he said: Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me. Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst hear me. And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer. And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me. Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them” (Alma 33:3-8). Alma had indeed learned that God was merciful to those who cry unto Him, and he passed this along to his son Helaman: “Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support;… Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 37:33-37). Of course, Alma’s life had been changed because of the prayers of his father who “prayed with much faith” concerning his son and helped bring about his conversion (Mosiah 26:14). Fervent prayer saved Alma from his wickedness and then helped to keep him on the covenant path, and daily supplication is likewise essential for us to stay true to the Lord.