Prayer!

One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 32: 9. It says:

"But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

Prayer is the best way that we can feel closer to our Heavenly Father. When we pray we show him our willingness to follow him and do the things we have been asked to do. Prayer is a way we can show our gratitude for the things which our Heavenly Father has given us, which is everything of course! It should not just be when we need help, but even when times are good we should continue to pray. As we pray regularly we receive more blessings, and we come to recognize God's hand in everything that we do. When we go throughout our day, we should pray and ask for any help that we need, no matter what we do. Then as the scripture says, God will bless us and help us grow as we go throughout our activities. We then become stronger in everything that we do. Who doesn't want God's help with them all the time?

The story of the 2000 stripling warriors is a perfect example of having complete faith in God. Through prayer they consecrated, or devoted, their efforts to Him, knowing that God would deliver them into safety. Here's a few scriptures from Alma 56 that talk about how strong their faith was that they would be safe, as long as they fought with the strength of our Heavenly Father.

"45 And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites.

 46 For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.

 47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

 48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it."

If we consecrate all of our doings through prayer, whether it be just reading the Book of Mormon or going to church, we become stronger and we can be blessed, just as the Stripling Warriors were. I know that prayer has been a huge help in my life, and that through prayer we can all feel closer to our Heavenly Father.