Cry Mightily Unto the Father

To my son,

Lately you have enjoyed watching the Star Wars movies, and one of the important parts of those stories is the idea of the Force from which the Jedi gets his power. That of course is not real, but there is a real source of power that comes from our Heavenly Father upon which you can draw any time. Just as Luke could focus and use the power of the Force anywhere he was at, so you too can pray at any time and receive help and strength from Heavenly Father. I want to encourage you to use the power of prayer more earnestly and frequently in your life. You can pray anytime—at home or at school, in the car or in your bedroom, at church or even in a soccer game. Your Heavenly Father wants to hear from you often and is eager to help you as you come to Him in prayer. You may not need to magically lift C-3PO up in the air, but there will always be difficult challenges to overcome in your life and you can have the help and even miracles from God as you earnestly pray.

One of my heroes in the Book of Mormon is Moroni, the last prophet to write. As he wandered around alone after the destruction of the Nephites for over twenty years, he wrote Mormon 8-9, all the book of Ether, and the book of Moroni. He was writing not for the people in his day but for us, even saying, “I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing” (Mormon 8:35). He saw you and me and wrote his final words for us. One of his most important messages was a repeated call to us to pray fervently to the Lord. His most famous invitation to prayer came in the last chapter when he urged us to ask if the book itself was true, “I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4). His promise is that God will answer that prayer by the Holy Ghost.

But Moroni also gave several other powerful invitations for us to pray. He exhorted us, “Cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb” (Mormon 9:6). To “cry” to the Lord is another way to tell us to pray with great sincerity and purpose. He instructed us, “Ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need” (Mormon 9:27). He gave us this instruction of the Savior, “Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer” (Moroni 2:2). He also gave us the very important words of the Sacrament prayers in which we “pray to the Father in the name of Christ,” to promise to always remember Him. He suggested that we should be “continually watchful unto prayer” (Moroni 6:4). He also quoted words of his father who counseled us to pray “with real intent” and to “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart” (Moroni 7:6,48).  Moroni also left us with a letter from his father in which Mormon told his son, “I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus.” We can indeed “continually” pray by having a prayer in our heart always no matter what we are doing. Mormon spoke of how we can be filled with love from the Holy Ghost “which love endureth by diligence unto prayer” (Moroni 8:3,26). Moroni’s invitation to all of us is to “cry mightily” to God and to pray with all our hearts, to ask for those things we stand in need of and to be diligent in our prayers. He also gave us this magnificent promise about prayer: “Whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth” (Mormon 9:21). As you believe in Christ and pray in faith Moroni’s promise is that your prayers will be answered. 

I know that you can put great faith in your prayers, for I have seen it. That cold night we drove down the canyon with very icy roads after night skiing, I was very afraid we were not going to be able to stop the car on the hills we had to descend. You prayed fervently for our safety, and I believe Heavenly Father answered your prayers and kept us safe. I encourage you to always pray with that same earnest desire and He will hear you and help you in all the challenges you face!

 

Love,

Dad