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Mighty Prayers
It has been said: “Heaven is too busy to answer half-hearted prayers.” James spoke of fervent prayer: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). Elias [Elijah] prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
The Lord warned the church at Laodicea: “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16). Mighty prayers are fervent and are offered from the depth of our hearts.
“And the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. for unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship him in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:25-26).
Mighty prayer is mentioned in The Book of Mormon only. Nephi wrote of the effectiveness of mighty prayer. “And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me” (1 Nephi 3:39).
Enos received the blessed assurance that his sins had been forgiven as a result of his mighty prayer: “And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication, for mine own soul; and all 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. And there came a voice unto me saying, Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed” (Enos 1:5-7). Mighty prayers are persistent. Enos prayed until he received an answer. See also Luke 11:9.
The disciples of Jesus were gathered together, and were united in mighty prayer and fasting. And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, what will ye that I shall give unto you? (3 Nephi 12:14-15). The disciples were united and their prayers were accompanied by fasting. They also prayed in the name of Jesus for a specific answer.
Earl Curry described mighty prayers for us [with some additions and modifications]: 1) Mighty prayer is prayer with the utmost of your personality [heart] in it. “A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
2) It is prayer about [specific] issues of the moment, about high purpose[s] and the achievement of great ideals.
3) It is prayer for high vision, keen insight, inspired insights, understanding and intelligence.
4) It is prayer of heartfelt gratitude and thanksgiving for the bountiful blessings of the past as well as an abiding trust in the promises yet to be fulfilled.
5) It is prayer of deep rejoicing in the joy of being in his presence “In thy presence is fullness of joy . . .” (Psalm 16:11).
6) It is prayer written or spoken under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Spirit-directed prayers are always answered. Holy Spirit directed prayers will never “ask amiss” (James 4:3).
7) The most appropriate posture for mighty prayer is kneeling.
8) We must pray “in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think he will receive anything of the Lord” (James 1:6-7).
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Dear Ones,
If we expect our prayers to be answered we must believe. As Paul preached at Lystra he saw a man who had never walked. As Paul preached he was given the knowledge that the cripple had faith to be healed. Paul said with a loud voice to the man: “Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked” (Acts 14:6-10).
Persistence in prayer is proof of the genuine sincerity of our requests of God. An example of this is recorded in Mark 7: “for a woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him [Jesus] and came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek [a Gentile], a Syrophoenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children of the kingdom first be filled; for it is not meet to take the children’s; bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord; thou sayest truly, yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying, go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found that the devil had gone out, and her daughter was laid upon the bed” (Mark 7:24-29). Her faith was rewarded.
Very few Christians are fully satisfied with their prayer life. We need to ask: What are the conditions of answered prayer? Some of the conditions are: 1) It is written that “ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2). 2) Ask for something specific. 3) Do not ask amiss” (James 4:3). Prayer ought to be limited to what we need. 4) Our sin must be dealt with. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18). We must confess and forsake our sins (Proverbs 28:13). 5) We must believe. “Let him ask in faith nothing wavering; for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think he will receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:6-7). 6) We need to pray from the heart, fervently. Many of us have asked the Lord to assist us in finding something we have desperately needed. These prayers are often answered because we have prayed from the heart, fervently.
I had been asked to preach at the 2002 Elder’s Conference. In my preparations I had chosen two statements I wanted to quote in my sermon. I hesitated to utilize the quotes unless I could give the reference or source of them. Time was running out. April 9, 2002, the day of my preaching assignment had arrived. I wanted to use the statement made by Joseph Smith, Jr., about being “as calm as a summers morning.” I thought I could find it in Church History but I could not find it there. The other statement was “I have many forces at work in the world . . . ye know not of.” I thought I could find this statement in the Doctrine and Covenants but I could not find it. I continued to pray.
Finally in the early morning hours of the day of my preaching assignment I found Joseph’s statement: “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter but I am as calm as the summers morning” (Doctrine and Covenants 113:4). We need to be calm and without fear in these troubled times.
I continued to pray for the source of the other quote: “I have forces at work . . . that ye knot not of . . .” During the early morning prayer service on April 9, Richard Neill told of an experience in counseling a young married couple. Then suddenly, seemingly unrelated to the testimony he had just shared, he referred to an inspired statement made by Elbert A Smith: “. . . be not unduly concerned that you are few in number . . . be concerned only that your righteousness be very great . . . I have many spiritual forces at work in the world that ye know not of” (Church History Vol. 6, p 646). My prayers had been answered in the Lord’s precise timing. He is never in a hurry, nor is He ever late.
The statements I had sought and prayed for are even more timely today than they were nearly twenty years ago.
My Love to All,
High Priest Francis Harper
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