Today’s Elder Quorum lesson was on prayer (Elder Bednar’s October 2008 talk Pray Always). As a convert, I quickly learned that a big part of the LDS Church was prayer. Pray for every meal (we used to say ‘Grace’ before special dinners only while growing up), pray morning, night, blessings, ordinances, family prayer, individual prayer, pray after studying scriptures, spouse prayer, Temple prayer, etc. You get the drift. Being a convert who hadn’t prayed much, this was somewhat foreign to me…not in a bad way, just in one of those yet-to-be-established habit sort of ways. When things aren’t a habit, they are harder to start.
As a introductory question to the lesson today, our instructor asked the room full of about 30 fathers the following question:
Who grew up in a home that had family prayer?
Now, our Elder’s Quorum is filled with a range of age groups. My best guess is that there is enough range to represent 4 different generations. Upon hearing this question – I knew my answer was no – I expected a different response than what I saw. I knew how I looked at certain people in my Ward and pegged some as the Peter Priesthood types and assumed their extended family was too. After some chuckling of Can you qualify the parameters of that question? Every day? Individual or all family? etc., the room had no hands in the air.
I was taken back a bit. I’m not sure what the next 5 minutes discussion was. I only know my thoughts were: I’m not alone. But those thoughts came with shock as well. Here is 4 generations of families…surely someone grew up in a home that followed the guidance of the Lord? It was comforting and alarming at the same time. Alarming in that how could I, a lowly convert who struggles constantly with a lot of things, be successful in the simple ask of family prayer, when those Peter Priesthoods weren’t successful either? Comforting in that I’m human.
I mentioned the word habit above. Perhaps here lies the problem. If prayer becomes a habit, does it follow the guidance from Elder Bednar? Is it always? Sure if it is your habit. Is it with sincere gratitude? Hmm, for the routine things? Do you pray for others? Wow, beyond my family you mean? Maybe I’ve been looking at this wrong the whole time. If I’m trying to form a habit, I surely will succeed in forming one, but fail in the desired outcome of why I’m forming the habit. I do want to have family prayer. Despite my struggles religiously, I do want my children to establish their own thoughts on prayer and I want them to see that I have faith in that belief.
This small exercise today had me think the rest of the afternoon about my legacy on my family. So I challenge you as well.
What is your family’s legacy on prayer?
I hope that my thoughts turn to sincere actions and a change of heart from habit to desire.
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