Have you heard the admonition to "always have a prayer in
your heart?" I never understood that when I was growing up. How could I
always pray? I had school to attend and friends to play with! I couldn't pray
then! I learned how to have a prayer in my heart during the summer of 2004 when
I taught English at the Xia Xi School of English in Dalian, China. I entered the country alone and afraid. I
will be forever grateful for the Holy Ghost, my constant companion. I prayed
before I walked from my apartment to school. My blonde hair and blue eyes drew
stares from everyone in the black-haired, almond-eyed sea of Chinese people. Most stares were friendly and curious, but
some in the shady neighborhood I walked through frightened me. I prayed before I stood to teach a room full
of eager teenagers and students. I didn’t
want to let them down. I prayed before I
ate delicious dumplings and hot pot; I prayed even harder over the cockroach
shrimp, boiled just until they were dead. Ugh. I attended an LDS sacrament
meeting one Sunday in Beijing. It was
held in the room of a high rise office building. I cried when I walked in
because it felt so good to be surrounded by Mormons again! I cried when I
walked out because China is dark and I hated to leave the light of that
sacrament meeting. China needs the
gospel. I eagerly await the day when their
corrupt government will allow missionaries to proselyte. Many good people are ready to accept the
gospel. I know because I met them.
The scripture story that sustained me during that time of teaching
is found in the Book of Mormon. When Alma and his people were in bondage to the
wicked high priest Amulon and the Lamanites, their afflictions were so great
that "they began to cry mightily unto God" (Mosiah 24: 10). Amulon
threatened to kill every person found praying. So Alma and his people
"did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their
hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts." God
answered their prayers, made their burdens light, and eventually freed them
from the Lamanites. This is what it
means to always have a prayer in your heart – to pray to God often throughout
the day.
Praying to Heavenly Father is like making a phone call to a dear
friend, except my speech is elevated with "thee" and
thou" and "thine". He always answers on the first ring. I never
get a busy signal. I can talk as long as I need to and He will listen intently
the entire time. I could never call at a bad time because time is an earthly,
not heavenly, concept. Heavenly Father is always available. He is always
happy to hear from me, even when I have made poor choices, because He is
forgiving. He loves me. He misses me. He communicates back to me too. Not
by talking (wouldn't that be cool if He did!) but by giving me promptings and
impressions from the Holy Ghost. I close my prayers, but I never hang up
the phone. I talk to Him many times throughout the day. In this way, my heart
is continually drawn out in prayer.
We can call Him when the kids are jumping
on the bed and ignoring our plea to get dressed! He will grant us
patience. We can call Him when we leave for work and school. He
will grant us protection. We can call Him when we don't know what to make for dinner.
He will remind us of a forgotten recipe. We can call Him when we
learn that our friend is battling cancer. He will bless her with strength
and us with inspiration to help her. We can call Him just to say thank you
while we are laughing on the couch with good friends. There is always a reason
to send a prayer, either long or short, to heaven. We can always say thank you
for our blessings or ask for help, whether for ourselves or someone else.
Whenever I hear an ambulance siren, I send a prayer to heaven. Ambulances
always remind me of the night my brother died. I have flashbacks of the terror
I felt. I pray that God will bless the person who needs medical help, the
person's family, and the driver and paramedics in the ambulance.
The prophet Alma also taught us never to
hang up the phone:
"Yea, humble yourselves, and continue
in prayer unto Him. Cry when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your
flocks. Cry unto Him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both
morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of
your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all
righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may
prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and
your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea,
and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in
prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those
who are around you" (Book
of Mormon, Alma 34: 19-27).
Is there ever a time NOT to pray? Nope. As
Alma said, we should always pray for help for ourselves and for those around us. We could spend our whole day on our knees
thanking Him for all His blessings! But then we could not take care of our
families or fulfill our responsibilities. But if we always have a prayer in our
heart, we do not have to be on our knees to pray. Our prayers reach heaven in the
midst of whatever we are doing. No matter where in the world we are, from China to America, we never have to hang up.
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