Autopilot Prayers

And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.
Doctrine & Covenants 42:14

So how do we get the Spirit in our lives? As the verse says, the answer is, the “prayer of faith”.  But is there a difference between just a “prayer” and a “prayer of faith”? I think there is.  Faith is a principle of action. Imagine you are in a class and in the opening prayer the person says, “Help us to feel the Spirit… help us to apply these things in our daily lives.”  So when they say those things, are you thinking about how you are going to make that happen? Are you going to keep yourself free of distractions in class because the prayer said, “Help us to feel the Spirit”? The “faith” in the “prayer of faith” is you doing all you can to make it happen.  To consciously pray with intent instead of praying on autopilot.

Do you know what the word “Amen” means that we use at the end of all of our prayers?  It means that you agree to what has been said or “so let it be”. In a group setting, when you say amen, you are telling God that you are agreeing to everything that the other person just said.

But is saying “Amen” just an autopilot response for you? Do you say it just because that is what you’ve decided you’re supposed to do?

Today’s Takeaway: Today, try to consider everything that you are saying in your own prayers, and what is said in others’ prayers. If you are going to say “amen” at the end of prayers, then mean it.  Do all you can to make those prayers happen.  Get off the autopilot and pray to God with real intent.