Calling home

My Mom asked that I spend some time here talking about Enos and prayer which were part of my reading yesterday. But since I love her and want her to be happy I am going to post some of my thoughts about that today. So mom, this post is for you.

The story of Enos is one day Enos went hunting. While out hunting he said that he the words that his father had spoken to him concerning eternal life began to sink into his heart. He then said that his soul began to hunger. So he knelt down to pray. He prayed all day and continued to pray through the night describing his prayer as a "wrestle before God". He continued to pray until his prayers reached the heavens. Finally, the voice of God came to him and promised him forgiveness for his sins because of his faith in Jesus Christ. He then began to pour out his "whole soul" on behalf of his brethren the Nephites. He then prayed that the records in the Book of Mormon would be brought to light to bless the lives of his enemies, the Lamanites. (See: Enos 1)

Prayer helped Enos to build a relationship with God. "The Bible Dictionary teaches that "[p]rayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other." (BD: Prayer) This means that through prayer our will may come into communication with the will of the Lord. This implies that we may make our will known to the Lord and he may do the same to us.

I have a friend who once shared an experience from his mission that stuck with me. One time his Mission President shared the story of Enos with the missionaries. When teaching them he emphasized that Enos prayed until his voice "reached the heavens."(Enos 1:4)  He then urged the missionaries to go home and to pray until they felt that their voices did the same. To me this is how we should feel about our prayers, that they do reach the heavens.

The Bible Dictionary teaches that "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part" (BD: Prayer) Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught: “I testify to you that God has known you individually … for a long, long time (see D&C 93:23). He has loved you for a long, long time. He not only knows the names of all the stars (see Ps. 147:4; Isa. 40:26); He knows your names and all your heartaches and your joys!” (Remember how Merciful the Lord has Been) As we recognize our relationship to God and God's love for his children prayer becomes easy. (See: 2 Nephi 26:24)


To me the story of Enos has not always been about prayer as much as it has been about a man's desire to be better. David O. McKay taught, "Man is a spiritual being, a soul, and at some period of his life everyone is possessed with an irresistible desire to know his relationship to the Infinite." [David O. McKay, True to the Faith, comp. Llewelyn R. McKay (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966), p. 244]
To me  Enos' prayer is his attempt to have know his relationship with the infinite. What is more, for me it is a story of a son connecting with his father.

I know that our prayers are communication with God. I know that he hears every prayer. I know that God does want to hear our prayers. He is our loving Father in Heaven and is eager to help us. He does answer all of our prayers in his own way and in his own time.

For more on answers to prayers here is a talk from Elder Richard G. Scott.