That Thy Faith Fail Not

In the hymn Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire we sing these words: 

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,

Uttered or unexpressed,

The motion of a hidden fire

That trembles in the breast. 

President Jeffrey R. Holland took that third line as the title for his talk in the most recent general conference, Motions of a Hidden Fire. He spoke of his gratitude for the prayers of so many who petitioned the Lord in his behalf when he was ill, and he testified that the Lord hears and answers all of our sincere prayers. He said, “If we ‘ask not amiss,’ there are no limits to when, where, or about what we should pray. According to the revelations, we are to ‘pray always.’ We are to pray, Amulek said, for ‘those who are around you,’ with the belief that the ‘fervent prayer of a righteous [people] availeth much.’ Our prayers ought to be vocal when we have the privacy to so offer them. If that is not practical, they should be carried as silent utterances in our heart. We sing that prayers are ‘motion[s] of a hidden fire,’ always to be offered, according to the Savior Himself, to God the Eternal Father in the name of His Only Begotten Son. My beloved friends, our prayers are our sweetest hour, our most ‘sincere desire,’ our simplest, purest form of worship.” We should call upon the Lord vocally and silently in all our doings and let our words to Him be the expression of the “hidden fire” of our personal feelings, desires, and yearnings to commune with Him. Alma so eloquently expressed our need to pray when he taught his son Helaman with these words: “Cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. 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 37:36-37). Our heart should be always turned to the Lord in a prayer like fire that always is burning.  

                President Holland also highlighted that our Savior gave us a powerful example of how and when to pray. He remarked, "Ultimately, we can look to the example of the Savior, who prayed so very, very often. But it has always been intriguing to me that Jesus felt the need to pray at all. Wasn’t He perfect? About what did He need to pray? Well, I have come to realize that He too, with us, wanted to ‘seek [the Father’s] face, believe his word, and trust his grace.’ Time after time, He retreated from society to be alone before piercing heaven with His prayers. At other times, He prayed in the company of a few companions. Then He would seek heaven on behalf of multitudes who would cover a hillside. Sometimes prayer glorified His clothing. Sometimes it glorified His countenance. Sometimes He stood to pray, sometimes He knelt, and at least once He fell on His face in prayer.” If the Savior needed to pray to commune with the Father, how much more need must we have to likewise seek His face through prayer. Luke recorded one instance of when the Savior prayed: “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” At least part of his purpose in praying that night was to prepare to call His twelve apostles, for the next verse reads: “And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles” (Luke 6:12-13). Perhaps He prayed for revelation for whom to call; perhaps He prayed for these apostles to be strengthened; perhaps He prayed that they would subsequently be successful in their missionary labors. Near the end of His ministry the Savior did tell Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:31-32). President Holland highlighted how the Savior “prayed more earnestly” when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane suffering for the sins of the world (Luke 22:44). Perhaps in that moment which was incomprehensible to us He prayed for each of us individually. If He told Peter that He prayed for him personally, would He not do the same for all of us? Each of us must face the adversary who desires to sift us as wheat, and I believe the Savior would speak to us like Peter and tell us how through His infinite sacrifice He prayed for us personally that our faith will not fail. And if He prayed for us, how we should pray for those we love that, as for Peter, their faith fail not.