Prayer

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Because of experience I accept the reality of prayer1. But I’ve often wondered about the mechanics of it . After all, at any given moment there are thousands of people praying to God and, if he is like us, it would be just jumble of noise. So obviously He doesn’t have a limited listening ability like we do.

Early in my computer career I came to a new paradigm in understanding of how God could perceive all prayers at once. I discovered that on a “mini-computer”, there is a central processor that polls keyboard activity at each “dumb” terminal. There might be, say, 200 of these terminal keyboards and the central computer allocating a very small fraction of a second to look at each terminal keyboard an then on to the next, etc. Well, the computer might poll (check with) my keyboard 1000 times a second looking for key strokes. In simple terms, this is a form of “multitasking”. For most keyboard queries the result would be “no activity” and then finally, finally, the computer would detect that a letter was pressed. To the computer, my fastest typing speed is glacial. The computer is fast, I am slow. The computer can multitask, I am mostly linear – so it can be otherwise engaged while it waits for my next keystroke. In a similar way, when I pray, God’s attention to me doesn’t need to go on hold and wait around2 for me to get the next word out. He’s not limited to the conditions of mortality as I am.

Nevertheless, how prayer happens is still a miracle to our mortal minds. The real miracle is that we are allowed and even commanded by God to pray3. Think of it: If any of us wanted an audience with a President, Pope, King or Queen, we would not likely get it. However, if we wish to get the sympathetic ear of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, He is ever so accessible: we just have to open our hearts and our mouths with a little sincerity4 and He hears us every time. Wow! Maybe we should approach him with a little more thought and care!

Sending a message up is straight forward. Receiving the answer back is a little more complicated. At the root of it, God desires to answer and bless us5. However, a response may not come6 if we have the wrong attitude7 or are full of pride8, or it may be slow in coming9, or we may miss the response because we’re not listening10. For a prayer of thanks or gratitude11, no response is needed. If necessary, the response may come via messenger12. The response may come telepathically13. The response may be audible14 from God or from an angel. The response may come with a gift of sudden insight and mental clarity15. The response may come in a dream16 at night or in a day vision17. The response my come via a communications device18 – a physical “oracle” (if available). Finally, the response may simply come in the form of our getting what we asked for, if asking is the purpose of our prayer. As to telepathy, or any of the other response methods mentioned above, the response may come from God or it may come from Lucifer as a deception attempt, so we must be careful and treat our communications with Deity carefully and seriously. Fortunately, God has given us a built-in means to detect19 the source of the input.

Why would we not pray? Do we really think ourselves so smart20 that it is unnecessary21? Are we too proud22? Is it smart to shun the all powerful, all knowing, Ruler of the Universe – or would it make more sense to consult with Him. Think about it!

And finally, after mortality, in the heavenly City of Zion23, prayer/communication with God is ever more present but it is enhanced – being in His presence changes the nature of it. All prayers get answered immediately24. Truth and knowledge will flow to us by the built in nature of our existence and location25.


 


 

References

1Proverbs 15:28-29 & 1 Peter 3:12 & Mormon 5:21

28 The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

21 And also the Lord will remember the prayers of the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them.

2Alma 40:8

… all is as one day with God, and time only is measured unto men.

3Ether 2:14-15

14 And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord.
15 And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. …

4Moroni 7:9

9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.

5Luke 11:9-13

9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

6Moroni 7:9

9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.

7Matthew 6:5-8

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

8Luke 18:9-14

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

9Section 101:7-9

7 They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.
8 In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.
9 Verily I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath I will remember mercy.

10DC 58:28-33

28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.
30 Who am I that made man, saith the Lord, that will hold him guiltless that obeys not my commandments?
31 Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?
32 I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.
33 Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above.

11

8 Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.’, ‘Alma 26:8’);” onmouseout=”return hideTip();” href=”#”>thanks or gratitude, no response is needed. If necessary, the response may come via

12JS-History 1:30-33 & Luke 1:12-14

30 While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
33 He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; …

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

13 1 Nephi 17:45 & Moroni 10:4

45… ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, …

… if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

14John 12:27-30)

27 … Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

15DC 9:8-9

8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; …

16Matthew 2:12-13 & 1 Nephi 2:1

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a dream, that he should take his family and depart into the wilderness.

17JS-History 1:42

42 … While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it.

18Exodus 28:30 & 1 Numbers 27:21 & Alma 37:38-40 & JS-History 1:35

30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim…

21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD…

38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director–or our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.
39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.
40 And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

35 Also, that there were two stones in silver bows–and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim–deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted ‘seers’ in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.

19Moroni 7:15-7

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.
16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

202 Nephi 9:28-29

28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
29 But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.

21DC 59:21

21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

22Isaiah 13:11 & Alma 1:32

11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease …

32 For those who did not belong to their church did indulge themselves in sorceries, and in idolatry or idleness, and in babblings, and in envyings and strife; wearing costly apparel; being lifted up in the pride of their own eyes; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing, committing whoredoms, and murdering, and all manner of wickedness;

23Revelation 21:2-5 & Moses 7:62-64

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;
64 And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.

24Section 101:7-9

25 … and all things shall become new, that my knowledge and glory may dwell upon all the earth.
27 And in that day whatsoever any man shall ask, it shall be given unto him.

25DC 30:8-10

8 The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.
9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s.
10 Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known;

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