Engaging With God, Do What You Love, How To Improve Quickly
The Disciple-Leader Newsletter #53
DISCIPLESHIP
"Nine times out of ten, falling away from God begins in the neglect of private prayer."
Charles Spurgeon
How you pray speaks volumes about how you view God. Want to measure the quality of your relationship with Him? Look no further than your prayers. That'll tell you where you're at with Him.
We can learn a lot about who God is by how those who know Him best, His prophets and apostles, regard Him. And we can learn a lot about how they regard Him by hearing how they pray. In a Q&A, President Eyring and Elder Holland were asked about how to make their prayers like conversations with God. Their answers are likely not the responses you'd expect.
President Eyring: “God is close and He loves you, and He'd love to have a conversation with you. But remember, He is God. I always worry when someone is speaking to Him in too familiar a way. It's not easy. Heavenly Father's words and ideas are not exactly ours. So the idea of having a conversation where you're chatting with Heavenly Father is probably a little bit of a lofty goal ... I pray as if He's there. As if He's listening. And He is listening ... (but) when you speak of (having) a conversation in your prayers, I think that's making it sound more casual than it's possible to be. We're dealing with God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ. They are so far above us ... For instance, he and I (pointing to Elder Holland) talk with each other and it's very personal. We've had wonderful conversations. I don't have conversations with Heavenly Father like that."
Elder Holland: "For some of (David O. McKay's) prayers, he would go into a darkened room, a private room with the curtains drawn, and he would kneel in the center of the room. Not on a chair and not against a bed. He'd kneel and say nothing. This is not at the end of the prayer, this is before the prayer started. He would say nothing for a matter of minutes until he felt like he was worthy to approach the throne of the Lord.”
Can you sense the reverence, awe, and love these men have for God? What about David O. McKay? Do you have moments like that with God?
When Jesus appeared to the Nephites, The Book of Mormon records: "And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth … And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him."
This is the reverence, awe, and gratitude worthy of God. This is how you should engage with Him in prayer.
One of my favorite things to do is to read temple dedicatory prayers. They set a pattern of how we should communicate with Him. Here is just an excerpt from three.
#1 Joseph Smith - Kirtland Temple
"And now we ask thee, Holy Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of thy bosom, in whose name alone salvation can be administered to the children of men, we ask thee, O Lord, to accept of this house, the workmanship of the hands of us, thy servants, which thou didst command us to build...
"And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them;
"And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfill that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days...
"O Lord God Almighty, hear us in these our petitions, and answer us from heaven, thy holy habitation, where thou sittest enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness, from everlasting to everlasting.
"O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord! And answer these petitions, and accept the dedication of this house unto thee, the work of our hands, which we have built unto thy name" (D&C 109).
#2 - Jeffrey R. Holland - St. George Temple
"Our Beloved and Holy Father in Heaven, Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and divine Father of Thine Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His sacred name and with unfailing gratitude for His redeeming Atonement, we present ourselves before Thee in this holy house of righteousness, this sanctuary of spirituality...
"Our Beloved Father ... we rededicate the lives of all in this temple district and in the communities that host them, that we will try to be clean and kind, that we will think celestially, and we will let Thee rule and reign in our lives. We pray that we will fulfill the measure of our creation and live outside the temple the way we act, speak and promise to live inside it. Today we ask a special blessing on those in this audience who have personal concerns, who came here this morning with trouble or burden or anxiety or fear. We pray for them, for their families, for their friends, and those for whom they weep. We bless them by the power of this priesthood by which we are invited here to serve and assure them that their prayers are indeed heard, and their pleadings will be honored according to Thy will and their faith.
"For all of this and all else thou seest fit to grant us, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Great I Am, the Bright and Morning Star, the Author and the Finisher of our faith, amen."
#3 Henry B. Eyring - Paris France Temple
"O God, our Eternal Father, we come unto Thee in prayer in the name of Thy Beloved Son, Jesus Christ ... We thank Thee for the atoning sacrifice of Thy Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for the understanding Thou hast given us of the breadth and depth of the redemption wrought by Him...
"We ask that the influence of the Holy Ghost may be unrestrained in this sacred place...
"Now, Holy Father, we ask Thee in the name of Jesus Christ, Thy Beloved Son, to answer our prayer. We entreat Thee to accept the dedication of this house. Sanctify it and make it holy that the ordinances performed therein by Thy sons and daughters may be, in Thy sight, as though performed by Thee.
"And to Thy name be the honor and glory and praise forever and ever, as desired by Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, amen."
What do you notice about how they speak to God? They approach Him with the utmost humility. Yet, they also "come boldly unto the throne of grace".
Humility -- a recognition that He is the most powerful. The Most High God.
Boldness -- a recognition that His power is as matchless as His love is perfect. He wants to bless you. He is waiting for you to engage with him in mighty prayer. The combination of humility and boldness is an expression of your faith in Him.
Examine your private prayers. Do they sound like these prayers? Do they feel like these prayers? If not, what do you need to do to change?
LEADERSHIP
"You've got to find what you love ... The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Steve Jobs
There are a lot of things that go into greatness. You need to work hard, be consistent, and have determination. You need talent. You've got to work smart. But of all the ingredients of greatness, by far "the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The only way to do great work is to love what you do. There is no inspiration, passion, or joy in any duty-motivated work. Love has to be the driver.
Kobe Bryant said, "The trick is finding what you love to do. We talk about hard work all the time, but if you have to get up every single morning and remind yourself how hard you need to work, you probably need to choose a different profession. That shouldn't be there. I wake up in the morning excited to get to it. If I'm not training, I'm missing it. There's no place I would rather be. If you have that feeling, then you are truly doing what God has put you on this earth to do."
Is that last sentence true? Can you discern God's mission for your life based on what you love to do?
Consider this commandment: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23).
Can you work at something with all your heart if you don't love it? Can your heart be in it, if love is not?
If you are to do the kind of work God has put you on earth to do, it has to be with all your heart. And that simply isn't possible if you don't love what you do.
So do what you love. Find a way to use your work in the service of others. That doesn't just mean your job by the way. If you aren't using your talents to do what you love in the service of God and His children, you aren't doing what you were created to do.
So do what you love. It's the only way to create something great.
MENTAL PERFORMANCE
"The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior."
Boyd K. Packer
Neal A. Maxwell wrote, "In intelligence and performance, He far surpasses the individual and the composite capacities and achievements of all who have lived, live now, and will yet live!"
If that's true, you would do well to study His life, example, and teachings. What's the use of studying leadership if Jesus' leadership isn't what you are filtering all other leadership learning through? He surpasses all others in leadership knowledge, capacity, and achievement. What teachings/examples could you study in place of Jesus' that would help you more than the teachings of He who surpasses all others in knowledge, capacity, and achievement?
What's the use of studying happiness if Jesus' way isn't what you are filtering all other happiness learning through? He surpasses all others in happiness knowledge, capacity, and achievement. What teachings/examples could we study in place of Jesus' that would help us more than the teachings of He who surpasses all others in knowledge, capacity, and achievement?
The study of the Savior will improve leadership quicker than a study of leadership will improve leadership.
The study of the Savior will improve happiness quicker than a study of happiness will improve happiness.
The study of the Savior will improve mindset (how to think) quicker than a study of mindset will improve mindset.
The study of the Savior will improve performance quicker than a study of performance will improve performance.
The study of the Savior will deepen purpose quicker than a study of purpose will deepen purpose.
The study of the Savior will grow love quicker than a study of love will grow love.
The study of the Savior will improve (insert ANY good attribute) quicker than a study of (insert ANY good attribute) will improve (insert ANY good attribute).
If you are serious about getting better at any aspect of your life, why wouldn't you disciple yourself to Jesus Christ? Learn from Him. Let Him teach you
Disciple-Leadership: Jesus-led. Lead like Jesus.