The Spirit and the Prayer of Faith

The Lord gave this invitation and promise to Martin Harris: “Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing—yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to the extent thereof” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:38). This is consistent with another invitation He gave later to the Prophet Joseph: “And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:14). The Spirit is granted unto those who pray with faith. When Alma taught the people of Ammonihah he similarly invited: “But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit” (Alma 13:28). Praying continually will allow us to be “led by the Holy Spirit.” The sons of Mosiah understood this principle as well, and thus they “they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them” (Alma 17:9). They prepared spiritually for their mission to the Lamanites by praying “much” and this allowed them to receive the Spirit to teach the Lamanites. These scriptures all attest to the truth that consistent, heartfelt prayer will bring the Spirit more fully into our lives.

                We see another connection between prayer and the Spirit in the account of the Nephites during Christ’s visit among them. After that first day, “They did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.” This may have referred to the Gift of the Holy Ghost or simply to have the Spirit with them, but either way they received it: “And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (3 Nephi 19:9,13). The Savior then came among them again, and again the story shows us the connection between prayer and the Spirit. Mormon recounted, “And it came to pass that when they had all knelt down upon the earth, he commanded his disciples that they should pray. And behold, they began to pray.” Jesus too joined them in prayer and spoke of the Holy Ghost: “Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world. Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their words. Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in me; and thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest them, and they pray unto me” (3 Nephi 19:17-22). He recognized that their praying in faith led to receiving the Spirit, and He even prayed that the Father would continue to grant unto them the Holy Ghost. And clearly the Spirit came to them in a powerful way as they prayed with him, experiencing such a marvelous manifestation of the Holy Ghost that no tongue could recount the words He prayed. This story invites us all to pray more earnestly and with more faith to receive the Spirit of the Lord in all that we do.