Prayer and Consecration

Alma 32:9

“‘But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint;

that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first

place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he

will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance

may be for the welfare of thy soul.”   -Alma 32:9

D&C 109

17 That all the incomings of thy people, into this house, may be

in the name of the Lord;

18 That all their outgoings from this house may be in the name of

the Lord;

19 And that all their salutations may be in the name of the Lord,

with holy hands, uplifted to the Most High;

I have loved these scriptures for a long time because it is the desire of my heart to be living always remembering Christ and dedicating my life to him.  I also love the verse in the bible where the Lord tells Moses something like, take off thy shoes from on thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground.  I want to walk in holiness to the Lord with nothing standing in between us to lessen the clarity of connection.  My spirit knows the joy that comes from being with Christ and Heavenly Father, and my spirit desires this joy.

Several weeks ago a dear friend talked to me about consecration and some things the Lord has been teaching her about moment to moment consecration. Moment to moment consecration comes from remembering Christ all day long, from remembering in each moment to seek the Lord’s will and guidance and to dedicate what you are doing to Him and asking him to make it holy.  It turns your mundane moments into holy moments that are blessed by our Father in Heaven.  Although I have had some special experiences with the help of this idea, I have a long way to go in fully and consistently applying these principles.

Prayer is such a blessing.  It is our door to heaven.  Here are some key words and phrases associated with prayer in the scriptures: waxed bold in mighty prayer, oft, wrestles, without ceasing, offer your whole souls as an offering, diligence, with all the energy of heart.  No where does it say, short, sweet and without conviction. ;)  

There are many scriptures that say to pray always.  I feel that this moment to moment consecration is a way to do that.  If you are consciously living each moment for God, with the intention of being his instrument, and promptly giving away any feelings from the adversary to Christ, you will have more power over the adversary.  Christ said,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always

lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive

by him.”  -3 Ne 18:15

Here’s another fitting scripture:

“Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be

full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and

also for the welfare of those who are around you.” -Alma 34:27

With diligence unto prayer, and with Christ going before our face, we can experience our burdens being lightened by Christ and receiving the joy of those who are able to be his hands on the earth.  This is also a wonderful way to keep an eternal perspective and not become complacent in our spiritual seeking.  Before my friend came and talked with me, I was so desiring a way that I could better maintain eternal perspective in my day to day life.  For me, this is the tool I needed.