NOTE: This is a talk I helped my neighbor/friend, Amber Finlinson, write:
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I have always felt a great need to pray. And the more I pray, the more I learn of its value in my life. And, growing up in a time when the morals of the world clash sharply with the morals of God, I feel that I and other kids my age have a great need to pray.
Doctrine and Covenants 10:5, the Lord tells us the power prayer will have in our lives when we need to be strengthened. The scripture reads: “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.”
And few stories in the scripture are more telling of how the Lord keeps his promise than that of Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni, found in the early chapters of 3rd Nephi.
When threatened with war by the evil leader of the wicked Gadianton Robbers, Lachoneus, the Nephite chief judge, prepares to defend his nation. The first preparation Lachoneus made was to tell his people to pray.
As we read in 3rd Nephi 3:15: Yea, [Lachoneus] said unto them: As the Lord liveth, except ye repent of all your iniquities, and cry unto the Lord, ye will in nowise be delivered out of the hands of those Gadianton robbers.”
From that time forth, the Nephites prayed for victory. A telling example happened on the battlefield. We read of it in 3rd Nephi 4:8: “And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.”
What a sight that must have been! To see an entire army, moments away from battle drop to its knees, and ask the God of Heaven for victory.
What do you think happened? They won, of course. It was like Dixie playing Delta—the good guys won easily! How could the Nephites lose? They had prayed; therefore, they conquered.
But the story of their winning-by-praying strategy in this war goes beyond just asking for the Lord’s help. The Nephites’ general, Gidgiddoni, prayed for direction in preparing his battle plan. Most Nephite men thought the wise thing to do would be to take the fight to the Robbers. But Gidgiddoni prayed, and the Lord told him to wait for the Robbers to come to him.
Meanwhile, Lachoneus, acting on inspiration, caused all the Nephites to be gathered, along with all their substance, into one city. This decision to gather all the Nephites, along with Gidgiddoni’s decision to stay put, proved to be decisive. The Robbers traveled lightly, thinking they would steal from Nephite villages on their way to Zarahemla.
But there was no food or substance in those villages. So by the time, the Robbers reached Zarahemla, they were starved and in ready-to-be-slaughtered condition.
And thus we can see how the Lord answered the prayers of a righteous people. We can see how he gave them the victory, and ruined the plans of their enemies.
Such a story is an example of how the Lord works in answering prayers.
While I do not worry about an army attacking my city, I do have to worry about the many temptations that come from growing up in the 21st Century. In some ways, my prayers have already been answered in that I have loving parents, who have shown me why it’s good to walk the gospel path. I have seven brothers and two sisters, who watch out for me. I have righteous friends, who live the standards of the church.
Also, while I have not had any write-to-the-Ensign experiences from my prayers, I have had spiritual experiences when I pray. When I asked if the church was true, the Spirit told me that it was. When I pray, I feel at peace. When I pray, I know I am talking to a Heavenly Father who loves me and who takes the time to hear how I feel and what I need and has the wisdom to give me what He knows I need.
The more I pray, the more I agree with what President Hinckley wrote in his Way To Be! Book: “You cannot do it alone … You need His help, and you know that you need His help!”
I know I can’t do it alone. I’m so grateful that I have a Heavenly Father who hears and answers my prayers. And, from those experiences I have had with prayer, I have learned the truth that a follower of Christ must pray always, so that she may come of conqueror—and conquer whatever obstacles Satan plans for her.
And this I say in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
