Dear Family:
As I have studied the book of Enos during this past week, I have thought much about power of personal prayer. This week's Zion Family quotation comes from President Spencer W. Kimball (Spencer W. Kimball,'Pray Always’,Tambuli, Mar 1982):
"There is a knowledge that our Father in Heaven wants each of us to have, and that is a personal knowledge that he hears and answers our prayers. I have always had very tender feelings about prayer and the power and blessings of prayer. And for this I thank our Heavenly Father and my dear parents and teachers, who taught me by word and example about righteous and heartfelt prayer.
"I am sure that if we pray fervently and righteously, individually and as a family, when we go to bed at night and when we arise in the morning, and around our tables at mealtime, we will not only be closer or more united as loved ones but we will grow spiritually through communion with our Heavenly Father.
"We each have so much need for his help as we seek to learn gospel truths and then live them, as we seek his help in the major decisions of our lives, decisions involving schooling, marriage, employment, place of residence, raising our families, serving with each other in the work of the Lord, and seeking his forgiveness and continual guidance and protection in all we do. Our list of needs is long and real and deeply felt.
...
"Learning the language of prayer is a joyous, lifetime experience. Sometimes ideas flood our mind as we listen after our prayers. Sometimes feelings press upon us. A spirit of calmness assures us that all will be well. But always, if we have been honest and earnest, we will experience a good feeling—feeling of warmth for our Father in Heaven and a sense of his love for us. I have felt sorrow because some of us have not learned the meaning of that calm, spiritual warmth, for it is a witness to us that our prayers have been heard. And since our Father in Heaven loves us with more love than we have even for ourselves, it means that we can trust in his goodness, we can trust in him; it means that if we continue praying and living as we should, our Father’s hand will guide and bless us."
I hope that all of us can seek the "joyous, lifetime experience" in prayer that President Kimball challenged us to find.
Love,
Dad/Mark
P.S. A complete archive of all the Zion Family Quotations are on the "
We are a Zion Family" blog.
"God has known you individually . . . for a long, long time (see D&C 93:23). He has loved you for a long, long time. He not only knows the names of all the stars (see Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26); He knows your names and all your heartaches and your joys! By the way, you have never seen an immortal star; they finally expire. But seated by you tonight are immortal individuals--imperfect but who are, nevertheless, 'trying to be like Jesus'!"
