A Prayer of Faith

This piece was written by Irene, one of our guest writers.

I have been aware for a long time of how fearful I am. The Lord has been showing me how deep-seated, pervasive and problematic fear is in my life.

Fear keeps me from trusting in the Lord and exercising faith in Him. Without exercising faith in him I am not going anywhere and I risk putting myself in Satan’s power. I have also seen that fear is a manifestation of pride in my life, which can lead to spiritual death. According to Pres. Benson, hostility to or opposition to God is a manifestation of the sin of pride. When I don’t like or don’t want something in my life (and fear fits both scenarios) I am saying that I know a better way for me than God does; I am essentially saying that I can’t trust the Lord to direct and save me. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy New Year! We at A Prayer of Faith hope your holidays were wonderful, and that 2007 will be a great year for all! Read the rest of this entry »

This piece has been cross-published from the Blogger of Jared, where it is part of the current “Life of Christ” theme going on there now where there have been several excellent submissions. We highly recommend that you check it out.

Looking at the Life of Christ as reported in the four Gospels of the New Testament, we see that his behavior towards and teachings about women were profoundly, revolutionarily loving in a way that we, in our current state of gender equality (relatively speaking) might take for granted, to the point that we are in danger of losing their impact. Christ’s respectful treatment of women was socially radical to say the least, which lends added strength to the messages inherent in those moments. Read the rest of this entry »

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Isaiah 26:3).

Peace is a feeling that we all long for. It eases our minds and hearts and gives us a respite from the cares of the world.

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another (Romans 14:17).

These verses from Romans tell me what the kingdom of God consists of, and one of those things is peace. Do we follow after the things which make for peace? What are those things? Following are some of the ideas I have gleaned from the scriptures that make for peace. Read the rest of this entry »

While visiting the family of our youngest son a few weeks ago, the adults in our group were startled one evening by the sudden, loud crying of our three-and-a-half-year-old grandson. He was apparently having a nightmare. Our daughter-in-law attempted to calm him with soft words and rocking, but he continued to cry out and talk nonsense which related to what he was dreaming.

She carried him downstairs to join the rest of us, and mentioned that this sort of thing had happened before. Once he was fully awake, she assured us, he would calm down. For a couple of minutes he continued to wail and display deep distress, despite his mother’s efforts to awaken and reassure him. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to gardening and anything to do with growing things, I know very little. (My thumb is whatever color is opposite of green!) But I do have some deep feelings about growing spirtual things. There have been many things going on in my world that have caused me to ponder on the value and necessity of a firm and strong testimony. Read the rest of this entry »

O God, beneath Thy guiding hand
Our exiled fathers crossed the sea;
And when they trod the wintry strand,
With prayer and psalm they worshipped Thee.

Thou heardest, well pleased, the song, the prayer:
Thy blessing came; and still its power
Shall onward, through all ages, bear
The memory of that holy hour.

Laws, freedom, and faith in God
Came with those exiles o’er the waves;
And, where their pilgrim feet have trod,
The God they trusted guards their graves.

And here Thy Name, O God of love,
Their children’s children still adore,
Till these eternal hills remove,
And spring adorns the earth no more.

Leonard Bacon, 1833

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And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes….
And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance….
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them. (1 Nephi 13:14-16)

To those of you in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving! (To all: It will be slow here for the next couple of days due to the holiday weekend.)

O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true; and we can know of their surety because we have them before our eyes.

And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers. Mosiah 1:6-7

As I was reading this passage the other day, specifically that phrase “because we have them before our eyes,” something jumped out at me. It’s not a terribly profound insight, very simple in fact.

Read the rest of this entry »

This was written by Mary A. one of our guest writers.

Hope is something we all need and search for. Life can be overwhelming and it can be discouraging. Hope is often connected with faith and charity in the scriptures. We exercise our faith in God and in Jesus Christ and we show charity, or the pure love of Christ, toward others. But what about hope? Where do we find that? Read the rest of this entry »

For years, many Latter-day Saints have focused heavily on scientific findings to support the Word of Wisdom prohibitions on tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, and illegal drugs. Perhaps for many of us, the Word of Wisdom has come to represent 1) scientific truth about nutrition, and 2) obedience to a commandment of God.

Now there seem to be an increasing number of articles in the media reporting the results of health studies which can be interpreted as showing that green tea, black tea, wine, and even coffee may have significant health benefits. Marijuana has been advocated by many in the medical profession for certain kinds of pain relief. Although tobacco, the over-consumption of strong alcoholic drinks, and the use of certain drugs may always remain frowned upon by scientists, we may soon find that moderate amounts of wine, black and green tea, coffee, and even presently illegal drugs are routinely recommended by researchers and doctors to treat or prevent certain illnesses.

Is it possible we have the priorities reversed? Read the rest of this entry »