Today I taught the young men's (Aaronic Priesthood) class at church, as I often do. When I teach I have carefully prepared notes and a class outline, which I rarely deviate from. Today, though, I did.
We were learning about prayer, and I had one of the young men read part of the definition of prayer out of the Indonesian version of the Bible Dictionary. He read: "Maksud dari doa bukanlah untuk mengubah kehendak Allah ..." Basically that translates as, "The meaning of prayer is not to change the will of God."
At that moment an idea popped into my head.
I asked the young man, "What happens when you talk to your friends about something you have different opinions about?"
He looked confused either due to my poor Indonesian or the fact that he is a teenager.
I went on, "For example, if you didn't like a movie but your friend did, what might you say to each other? You might say, 'That was the worst.'
"He could reply, 'But the special effects were amazing in that one scene.'
"You would reply, 'I guess you have a point, but I still didn't like it.'
"Then your friend would respond, 'But the acting was great, too.'
"What happens as you talk?
"Through the influence of peer pressure or the revealing of details you didn't notice, suddenly your opinion starts to shift. Your thoughts become closer to those of your friend."
The same process occurs in any of our communication with those around us. Our opinions form and are formed through information and ideas that pop into our heads as we speak. That is why PhD students sit around for hours discussing a concept or theory. Through conversation we learn and our opinions (generally) start to coincide with those around us.
Prayer, when properly carried out, is a conversation with God. He, having perfect knowledge, has some very good opinions about most issues. As we actually converse with Him, our opinions will draw closer to his opinions. Using a poor analogy, it is like having perfect peer pressure.
Unfortunately very few of my prayers are of the same quality of my conversations. Rarely do I engage God as I would an interesting friend. I'm not even sure I completely comprehend what such a prayer would entail.
I believe the idea came into my head during class through the influence of the Holy Ghost. I intend to try out such a prayer very soon.
Also, I am very grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with the young men in our branch. Five of them got their mission calls today. My time with them has really strengthened my testimony.
1 comment:
Definitely relate. Trying to become one with the Lord through prayer often is difficult. From there, I think a major way we should be trying to build Zion is through "reasoning together" in this regard. It's the essence of democracy but also the essence of becoming of one heart and one mind amidst our differences. As we all become one with God, we can then become one with each other.
And, I'm sure the YM are grateful for you, too!
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