#9: No half-hearted prayers, please

"Ye must pray always, and not faint" (2 Nephi 32:8-9)

Heard this one before? I've heard this scripture plenty of times in many lessons and there are many different ways that this one line could be interpreted based on an individual's circumstances. I've heard it explained that we should pray always and not give up; that we should pray always and our prayers will sustain us; these are all very nice and very applicable but I never felt that this scripture really spoke to me. Until it was explained to me in a whole different way.

Turns out there's a few different definitions of the word faint (I love looking up definitions if you can't tell by now). The definitions below made this scripture light up like a firework for me!

faint

/feɪnt/ adjective

1. lacking brightness, vividness, clearness, loudness, strength, etc.

2. feeble or slight

3. feeling weak, dizzy, or exhausted; about to lose consciousness

4. lacking courage; cowardly; timorous

"Pray always, and not faint"... it's almost like the Lord is saying "Pray, yes, but I don't want any half-hearted prayers. Give me the real thing. Really talk to me."

Now it makes sense. The Lord is giving us specific instructions on how to get the most out of our prayers. We can pray all day long but if our prayers aren't clear, loud, strong, and heartfelt, what are we really going to get out of it?  Not nearly as much as if we really talk to Heavenly Father. He wants the real thing. A real conversation with us.

Let us pray always...and not faint!

#8: Earnest Money

ear·nest

[ur-nist] noun

1. a portion of something, given or done in advance as a pledge of the remainder.

2. [Law]. earnest money.

3. anything that gives pledge, promise, or indication of what is to follow.

So I was studying about the Holy Ghost the other day when I was directed to an entry in the Bible Dictionary for the word earnest. I've heard that word used in business agreements and things; I know that earnest money is a good faith pledge to show that you'll follow through with the remainder of your agreement. (I mean, everyone's seen a movie where the bank won't let Ma keep the farm unless she can produce "earnest money" by the end of the week, right?) We're familiar with the term earnest but I had no idea what that word had to do with the gift of the Holy Ghost so I started reading. Here's what it says:

Earnest. A pledge or security. The word thus translated is a commercial term denoting the deposit paid by a buyer on entering into an agreement for the purchase of anything. As used by Paul (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:14) it means that the Lord gives us his Holy Spirit in this life as a foretaste of the joy of eternal life. The Spirit is also the Lord’s surety that he will fulfill his promise to give eternal life to the faithful.

Isn't that amazing?! I had never thought of the gift of the Holy Ghost in those terms before! After we are baptized we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost, meaning the spirit can be our companion and can guide us to the best things in life. But this "gift" is given as a pledge of something greater. Jesus Christ promises us eternal life when we make promises with Him and He's given us the Holy Ghost as a good faith pledge that He intends to follow through with the full agreement.

Think about how good the spirit feels. It's the best feeling in the world. The bible dictionary says that the Holy Spirit is just a "foretaste of the joy of eternal life". How amazing will eternal life be if the Holy Ghost is just a preview of that? I don't know about you but thinking about that makes me pretty excited.

#7: Come live in my heart and pay no rent

The library in Cordelia was all decorated for Valentine's day and they had this quote on one of the windows. It caught my attention because it was a cute saying but then the missionary in me kicked in and started trying to draw a comparision to the gospel. Since everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) can be related back to the gospel somehow, it wasn't so hard.

Do we say this to Christ (like we should)? Sometimes it's really easy to say, "I'll let you into my heart, but only on these conditions...".

The true measure of our faith in Christ is if we open our hearts to Him rent free.

Just a thought on Valentine's day.

#6: Motorcycle Training Meets Eternal Life

So today's morsel of wisdom comes from my dad. He shared this experience with me in a letter this week and I wanted to pass it on to all of my wonderful readers. (hope you don't mind, Dad!)

"Many years ago, when I took a motorcycle training course, one of the exercises was to drive through a slalom course of orange cones. At first, the cones were spaced about 20 feet apart. It seemed like you could easily drive a car through them. But no one in the class was able to get past the third cone without hitting one. Some people actually hit the very first cone. The instructor then explained to the class that the motorcycle will go wherever you look. If you look at the obstacle (the cone, the pothole, the rock, the patch of sand), you will drive the motorcycle right into it. He explained that you must look where you want the motorcycle to go, and keep track of the obstacles with your peripheral vision. Pick out a point on the horizon and drive to it.

We all lined up again and went through the cones again. This time it was easy to get through. Then the cones were moved closer together and then closer again, down to about 8 feet apart. Everyone made it through without anyone hitting a cone. If you keep your eyes on the real destination, the obstacles can be negotiated without too much trouble. I have had to remind myself of this important lesson many times during the 25 years since that class.

Eternal life with our Heavenly Father and our Savior and our families is the real destination. Keep an eye on the little obstacles in life, but don't lose sight of the real destination."

Just to add a little weight to this great analogy: we learn in Doctrine & Covenants 82:19 that we should "...[do] all things with an eye single to the glory of God." We will come across obstacles again and again in life but as long as we keep our eyes on our destination we will be able to negotiate those obstacles without crashing and burning.

Where are your eyes focused?