Today's Favorite Verse: Ether 1:43

Today's Favorite Verse: Ether 1:43
"And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me."

I love this verse, for it shows the power of prayers, and receiving answers even if what we pray for is over a very long time. I looked at how his prayers fit the needs at the time. Jared asked his brother to cry unto the Lord that their language would not be confounded. Then it was that their friends language was not confounded. Next it was to inquire if they were to be driven out of the land, and if so maybe to a choice land as their inheritance. Then he is given where they were to go and in what manner. The conversation the brother of Jared had with the Lord was an intimately one. He listened and obeyed. This made me think about my prayers and how much better I could be in talking to the Lord.

"The Lord explained to the brother of Jared that blessings had come to his people as a result of prayers offered over a long time. Enduring obedience coupled with frequent and persistent prayers is powerful. In an 1839 discourse in Commerce, Illinois, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “God is not a respecter of persons, we all have the same privilege. Come to God weary him until he blesses you &c we are entitled to the same blessings” ([recorded in Willard Richards Pocket Companion, 78–79] cited in The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph, comp. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook [1980], 15).
President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) similarly taught that we must put great effort into our prayers and that we must pray frequently:
“Do you get answers to your prayers? If not, perhaps you did not pay the price. Do you offer a few trite words and worn-out phrases, or do you talk intimately to the Lord? Do you pray occasionally when you should be praying regularly, often, constantly? Do you offer pennies to pay heavy debts when you should give dollars to erase that obligation?
“When you pray, do you just speak, or do you also listen? Your Savior said, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.’ (Rev. 3:20.)
“… Should we ever fail to get an answer to our prayers, we must look into our lives for a reason” (“Prayer,” New Era, Mar. 1978, 17).
(Book of Mormon Student Manuel, Chapter 50: Ether 1-5, "This Long Time Ye Have Cried unto Me")

Day 3564