Mighty Prayer

Mighty Prayer

I taught my Sunday School class today this principle:

Mighty prayer is a prayer where you are told what to say.  Mighty prayer is a prayer where the Holy Ghost tells you what to say.

Many years ago I read a book by Elder Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, in which he talked about the phrase mighty prayer.  He was quoting from the 27th chapter of 3 Nephi where the disciples of Christ had gathered together to ask the Lord what he wanted his church to be called.  He quoted the first verse:

And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting.

3 Ne. 27:1

 He said that being united in mighty prayer is a key to what happened next.

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 Ne. 27:2

 I read that book years ago, and the idea of mighty prayer struck me then.  It wasn't until this past year, however, when I read a book by John Pontius called The Triumph of Zion, that I learned what mighty prayer means.  Mighty prayer is a prayer where you are told what to pray.

The Temple Endowment

I remember a story related by Truman Madsen about Joseph Smith.  He was talking to a sister and told her, "Sister, you don't know how to pray.  Go to the temple and you will learn how to pray."

I have always remembered that, but I didn't really understand that until recently either!  In the temple, there is a very similar pattern:

1. We gather together to pray
2. Then we are told what to pray
3. Then the Lord appears to ask us, "What will ye that I shall give unto you?"
4. We are then allowed to receive the blessing we desire from his hand (including entering his presence)

Of course, in the temple, the endowment session is practice for the time when the Lord actually does bless us with a special blessing by his own hand and we are allowed to actually enter his presence.  That experience, according to Elder Holland, will be preceded by mighty prayer.

The Sacrament

Today in class, we were talking about the sacrament prayers and I had another realization.  The sacrament is also a time when we are gathered together in mighty prayer.  The wording of the prayers must be correct, and we usually assume that is because they are so important.  They are, but I realized today there is another reason.  Perhaps an even better reason.  The sacrament provides the same pattern for mighty prayer!

1. We gather together to pray
2. Then we are told what to pray (the Lord revealed the exact words)
3. After the prayer, and our faithfulness, we are promised the blessing of having "his Spirit" -- meaning the Spirit of Christ -- to always be with us

The Spirit of Christ, in this case, is not the Holy Ghost, but the promise of the second comforter.

The sacrament prepares us to enter the presence of the Lord through mighty prayer.

The Lord's Prayer

In talking to my wife about this, we discussed the Lord's prayer.  That prayer was an example when the Lord told us what to pray!

We often talk of how we shouldn't simply repeat this prayer over and over.  That is not the pattern.  Only two verses earlier Christ tells us that we shouldn't use vain repetitions as the heathen.  He also says the Father knows what we need before we ask him.  That, too, is a key.  We ourselves may not know what we need, but the father does.  So, how do we pray then?  Christ is not just giving us some good things to mention in our prayers, but also the way we should pray.  "After this manner therefore pray ye..." (Matt. 6:8)  For mighty prayer, we should say what we are told to pray by the Lord.

The first two things Christ tells us to pray for include "hallowing," or making sacred, the name of God, and inviting the kingdom of God to come.  The subject of the name of God is important, but must be discussed another time.  Personally and individually, the kingdom of God comes to us when we enter the presence of God, or in other words, when Christ appears to us.  The next phrase is the summation of a mighty prayer: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  There is no greater witness that we accept the will of God than when we engage in mighty prayer and only pray for what he tells us.

A Temple Dedication

In talking with my brother, we could not think of another instance where an ordinance was in the format of a prayer (i.e., addressing Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ) and where we are told what to say.  Many ordinances are prayer-like, but usually address the recipient of the ordinance (such as baptism).  However, my brother did think of a temple dedication.  It just so happens that a temple dedication follows the same pattern!

1. We gather together for a dedicatory prayer
2. We are told what to pray (temple dedications are always read and given by revelation)
3. We invite the Lord to the temple with the Hosanna Shout (Hosanna means "save us")
4. At some point, the Lord suddenly comes to his temple

In our own lives, we can invite the Lord to visit, speak, or even appear unto us through mighty prayer.  When we are worthy enough, the Holy Ghost will tell us what to pray.  This type of prayer is what must occur before we can enter the presence of the Lord and receive a blessing from his hand.