Alma's Example of Prayer

We often read of prophets praying at length and with all their heart to the Lord. For example, Enos recorded, “All the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens” (Enos 1:4). Nephi similarly recoded how when he was tied up, “I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long” (1 Nephi 18:16). He later wrote about his people, “For I pray continually for them by day” (2 Nephi 33:3). The Nephite disciples “were united in mighty prayer and fasting” when they were gathered together (3 Nephi 27:1). When Alma went to the city of Ammonihah, he “labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer” (Alma 8:10). In most references like these, though, we don’t have the actual words of the prayers; instead, we learn simply that the prophets fervently prayed to the Lord. That is what makes Alma 31:26-35 so valuable for us—we have the actual words of a prayer by Alma for ten verses as he poured out his soul to the Lord over the Zoramites. I think Mormon wanted us to see the difference in the fixed and haughty prayers of the Zoramites to the heartfelt and humble pleadings of Alma. His fervent petition to the Lord surely has much to teach us about communing with God.

               Perhaps the first lesson from Alma’s prayer is the importance of true sincerity and feeling. He said the phrase “O Lord” or “O God” over a dozen times, an indication I think that he was really pouring his heart out to God. Another thing that stands out to me is the fact that he took time in his prayer to explain the situation he was it: in verses 27-29 he explained the Zoramite situation with their riches and their vain prayers. Of course God knew this, but I think He still expects us to talk to Him and express our experiences in words as Alma did. The prophet did not rush to get to what he wanted to ask, but he spoke as if to a friend. Perhaps another lesson for us from these verses is that we should seek for two things in particular from the Lord: strength and comfort. Alma did not ask for his problems to go away; rather he asked for the strength to overcome them: “O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine infirmities…. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions.” He similarly prayed for his fellow laborers: “Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength” (v30-33). Alma also sought for comfort from God, pleading: “O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ…. O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul.” Again he sought the same for his fellow missionaries: “yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ” (v31-32). Again he was not seeking to have his problems magically disappear, but he did know where to go for reassurance and comfort to make it through. We would do well to follow his example as we seek to improve our prayers: pour out our hearts in true sincerity, speak to Him in detail about our circumstances, and then seek His strength and comfort. And surely Alma’s prayer was answered, for He “he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (v38). And so will ours if we truly seek the Lord as this Book of Mormon prophet did.