26 August 2007 Lesson by Michelle Rackley: "Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer" by Elder Scott

Today's lesson, taught by Michelle Rackley, was based on Elder Richard G. Scott's April 2007 General Conference address "Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer."

Michelle began the lesson by talking about four different types of prayer. As an example of the first type, a prayer for forgiveness, she read us Enos 1: 2-8. For the second type, a prayer for guidance or truth, she read us the account of King Lamoni's father in Alma 22: 15-18. For the third type of prayer, a prayer of gratitude, she read us 2 Nephi 4: 18-25. For the fourth type of prayer, a prayer for comfort, she asked us to suggest some examples from the scriptures. The first example given was of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22).

Here are some of the great comments on prayer by various members of the class from the rest of the lesson:

-When my mother died it felt like the end of the world. I prayed a lot. I remembered that my mother had asked me not to grieve for her, and in time, I was able to focus on my happy memories of her.

-I was impressed when we read the scriptures in Enos and Alma that both men hungered for answers from God. If our desire is great, like theirs was, we are better able to follow through.

-I've found that my desires for good are stronger after trials and struggles which cause me to grow.

-Sometimes we need to pray to be sustained through ongoing trials that are not going away.

-For many years we struggled to get pregnant. I got to a point where I felt that I could not go on. I told my husband, and he said to me that we were not supposed to stop trying, that we would have a child of our own first, before we turned to adoption. I was angry at first, and felt that he didn't understand what I was going through. But as I prayed I received confirmation that what he had said was true and from God. I'm grateful for the guidance the priesthood can bring to our lives.

-Once I helped plan an activity for the graduating Laurels. For part of the activity, we asked the girls to spend 30 minutes saying a prayer of gratitude. I did this myself, and although I initially thought 30 minutes was a very long time, I had barely made a dent in the things I'm grateful for when the timer rang.

-There was a period of my life when I was a student at BYU when I felt an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. I had a Doctrine & Covenants teacher that I trust and admired, and I thought that she might be able to say something that would help me. I tried to talk to her after class one day, but was not able to tell her what I really wanted, and left disappointed. I went outside and prayed that if there was something she could say that would help me, the Lord would facilitate another meeting. Shortly thereafter, the teacher found me and we had a long talk, which left me feeling greatly comforted.

-I'm thinking about what Kathy wrote in her Prez Says column this week about being real with each other. When we are open and willing to share with one another what is really going on in our lives, we can bless each other. We can pray for each other.

-One day I was touched by the instruction to forgive found in conjunction with a description of prayer in Mark 11: 24-25. At the time I was feeling like nothing. I read this scripture and prayed. A feeling washed over me, and I said God, your son knows exactly how I feel. Please let him help me get over this. My Savior has been through what I'm going through. I know that he's real, that he's a person, a friend, a companion, and an adviser.

Michelle closed by reading John 17: 9, "I pray for them." She wants us to pray for each other, the way the Savior prays for us. She told us that she knows many people have been praying for her and for her family over the past several months. Her home has been filled with peace and love instead of discouragement and despair because of our prayers for her. God has filled her with peace and love every time she has gone to him in prayer.