3/29/2018 - Section 88:63-69

March 29, 2018

Section 88:63-69

Prayer, Draw Near Unto Me, Sanctification, Heavenly Father,

Verses 63 & 64 combine the scripture phrases that come into my mind so often to guide me, and oft times to stabilize me, but always reminding me of the importance of keeping my relationship with my father a lovingly maintained and vibrant one. “63: Draw near unto me and I will draw ear unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 63. Whatsoever ye ask of the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you;”

There is a beautiful description in the Smith and Sjodahl commentary on prayer: “…Prayer is more subtle than this doctrine implies. It may be described as the soul  speaking to God and the hearing God speak to it. It is, therefore, the deepest and the most wonderful act of which a man is capable, for in it the who universe is, as it were, concentrated…[Bishop Hall: What God requires and looks at, is neither the arithmetic of our prayers—how many they are; not the rhetoric of our prayers—how eloquent they be; nor the geometry of our prayers—how loving they may be; nor the music of our prayers—how sweet our voice may be; not the logic, nor the, method, nor even the orthodoxy of our prayers.] God looks to our welfare, even when He does not give us that for which we ask. If we were to pray for, and receive what is not good for us, it would be for our condemnation. ” as it says in v 65.

I often feel confirmation from my Heavenly Father through a flood of feeling and comfort. These times usually come when I am seeking him—in church or in the privacy of my room. There are a few times when confirmation has come to me as I have tried to write down my feelings and thoughts of His scriptures, and as I write my mind is flooded with greater thoughts that didn’t come from me, but instead came to me. This particular experience has not happened often to me, but the memory of those experiences is a memory I treasure and hold dear.

For the last 5 years or so, I have pondered and sought the meaning of sanctification. I had decided that for me it simply means becoming closer to perfection. That is a process that happens, for me, one small step at a time. V 67 instructs us to sanctify ourselves “that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way…” I really feel no need to see His face, for I have felt his love and I know He is there. This statement takes me beyond faith and into knowledge. I am so thankful for this gift of knowledge. My intent is to keep that knowledge by protecting my personal relationship with Him. He will always be near me, and I must promise Him the same: that I will always be near Him. When I fall short of that, immediate course corrections bring me back. I am so grateful for this knowledge, and for the welcome and love I find in coming to my Heavenly Father.