1 Nephi 18
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"...and I did go into the mount off, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things."
Nephi didn't just have a prayer in his heart (though that is a good thing.) He put forth great effort into putting himself in a physical and spiritual position to communicate with the Lord. Because of his position, physically and spiritually, he created the opportunity for the Lord to show him great things.
For me, I always have a prayer in my heart. I talk to God all throughout the day. I kneel down with my family, and with my husband, each day in prayer. I also kneel by my bed for my personal prayer daily. But, reading this account, I feel drawn towards putting forth more effort, physically and spiritually, in my communication with the Lord.
I think the Lord has power to speak with me whenever, but my ability to hear is greatly influenced by what I am doing, and where I am. I also believe that the greater investment I put into my prayers, the greater the return. That has been proven in Nephi's case, and in the future we will read of Enos and many others.
Here is a picture I found on lds.org of a mount near the water that could very well represent the place where Nephi would go to pray. (click here to see the full article "Was Lehi Here?" where I found this picture.It's fascinating)
Look at how beautiful, lush and green it is in the mist of the sand-colored dessert. It is an oasis.
It makes me wonder where my oasis is?
The temple is one of them. A beautiful oasis in the midst of the telestial desert we live in.
I love only twenty minutes away from the foothills of Mt Rainier. I could drive there easily and be alone to pray.
But, not everyone lives next to a temple or a mountain.
I wonder if I can create my own 'mount' where I could go and pray oft to the Lord. But, rather than traveling for twenty minutes to a physical destination, I would spend twenty minutes immersed in the scriptures, taking myself to a spiritual destination with the specific intent of communicating with him. Not thinking about dishes, laundry, dinner, etc. Just taking my specific questions/concerns to Him and expecting, and waiting for, His response.
Nephi is just amazing.And so is his family. They all suffered. Their poor parents! Old Sariah was bedridden and heartsick, with two little boys under the age of 7 years old, being tossed like a ragdoll in an ocean storm.
To put some perspective on ocean storms, I found a few real pictures:
It looks frightening. Dark. Suffocating.
I think life can feel like that at times. I know there have been moments in my life where I feel the sky crashing down and the floor beneath me giving in. It is frightening.
I know that sometimes it is necessary for me to go through the storms of life, and He allows it, because that it is the only way I will learn.
But, how grateful I am for the testimony that I have. How grateful I am to know that the Savior is always by my side. He has given me strength, peace, and perspective. And I know that as I live righteously, my storms will only be as long as I need the to be. He has the power to calm them, and I trust that He will, when my learning is done. I know that He is with me, suffering with me, caring for me, hurting for me. He is next to me, and will calm to storm the moment it needs to be.
That makes me feel strong and safe.
Even in a small boat in this very, very large ocean of life.
"...and I did go into the mount off, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things."
Nephi didn't just have a prayer in his heart (though that is a good thing.) He put forth great effort into putting himself in a physical and spiritual position to communicate with the Lord. Because of his position, physically and spiritually, he created the opportunity for the Lord to show him great things.
For me, I always have a prayer in my heart. I talk to God all throughout the day. I kneel down with my family, and with my husband, each day in prayer. I also kneel by my bed for my personal prayer daily. But, reading this account, I feel drawn towards putting forth more effort, physically and spiritually, in my communication with the Lord.
I think the Lord has power to speak with me whenever, but my ability to hear is greatly influenced by what I am doing, and where I am. I also believe that the greater investment I put into my prayers, the greater the return. That has been proven in Nephi's case, and in the future we will read of Enos and many others.
Here is a picture I found on lds.org of a mount near the water that could very well represent the place where Nephi would go to pray. (click here to see the full article "Was Lehi Here?" where I found this picture.It's fascinating)
Look at how beautiful, lush and green it is in the mist of the sand-colored dessert. It is an oasis.
It makes me wonder where my oasis is?
I love only twenty minutes away from the foothills of Mt Rainier. I could drive there easily and be alone to pray.
But, not everyone lives next to a temple or a mountain.
I wonder if I can create my own 'mount' where I could go and pray oft to the Lord. But, rather than traveling for twenty minutes to a physical destination, I would spend twenty minutes immersed in the scriptures, taking myself to a spiritual destination with the specific intent of communicating with him. Not thinking about dishes, laundry, dinner, etc. Just taking my specific questions/concerns to Him and expecting, and waiting for, His response.
Nephi's faith amazes me. He was tied up, bound and exposed to the elements of an ocean storm, for four days, and he did not complain. Not only that, but he praised God the entire time. Amazing.
The key was that Nephi had Perspective. He knew that the Lord allowed this to happen to him (notice how Nephi didn't say the Lord did it to him- he didn't blame the Lord.) He trusted in the Lord's higher purposes, so much so that he praised the Lord as he was bound and the ship was tossed.
Then, it was only AFTER he was loosed by his brothers that he prayed the storm would cease.
Nephi knew that the storm was the only way to get to Laman and Lemuel. He loved them so much that he suffered through it, so they could have another chance at repentance.
To put some perspective on ocean storms, I found a few real pictures:
It looks frightening. Dark. Suffocating.
I think life can feel like that at times. I know there have been moments in my life where I feel the sky crashing down and the floor beneath me giving in. It is frightening.
I know that sometimes it is necessary for me to go through the storms of life, and He allows it, because that it is the only way I will learn.
But, how grateful I am for the testimony that I have. How grateful I am to know that the Savior is always by my side. He has given me strength, peace, and perspective. And I know that as I live righteously, my storms will only be as long as I need the to be. He has the power to calm them, and I trust that He will, when my learning is done. I know that He is with me, suffering with me, caring for me, hurting for me. He is next to me, and will calm to storm the moment it needs to be.
That makes me feel strong and safe.
Even in a small boat in this very, very large ocean of life.
There were two things in this chapter which struck chords in my heart this morning.
ReplyDeleteFirst... in Vs 6 - All the provisions and seeds the families would need for the trip were done with instruction from God. This made me feel better - like I am not bothering my Heavenly Father - because I always pray over my "shopping" to be sure I am putting our temporal resources to best use for our family.
Second... in vs 11 - the Lord allowed Nephi's mistreatment so He could show His great power. Now, this one scares me a little. Okay, this morning, alot. Not to get to political, let's just say, we are facing a monumental issue- I know, MANY monumental issues- in our country right now. Fervent prayer for courageous leaders is more important than ever.
But this verse is a reminder that even with fervent prayer, the Lord will allow things to happen to show His power. The big-chicken in me doesn't want to be comparatively like Nephi- tied to the post, in the elements, in the midst of the storm and exposed to the crashing sea for days until someone else stops sinning. How much worse is our storm going to get- I don't know - but I do know thinking ahead in the BoM) we are all going to have to hoist our title of liberty (American Flag) and be ready.
In the adult session of our Stake Conference a few years back we had a great speaker essentially talk about how when you receive a new calling, don't ask the previous person in that calling what they did. We are to ask the Lord. The same thing that is mentioned in verses 2 and 3. I know this is what I should do but I still like to see how others did things. I wish I had more confidence that if I asked the Lord how to do things, he would show me the way. But, I don't.
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