Elder James Park

The prayer of Enos

Wow, time has flown by and I can't believe that time keeps passing by faster and faster! This week my companion and I were able to find a couple of new friends who are super cool. Their names are Kevin and his girlfriend Micaela. They are both in their twenties, Micaela is a geologist and Kevin is a barber studying to become a computer technician. They both came to church for the first time this Sunday and I am excited to continue helping them progress towards making covenants with our Father in Heaven.

Today I wanted to share a little about the prayer of Enos. I am sure that many of you are familiar with the story, but I wanted to give you all a quick refresher of a few key points.

To begin, Enos was out hunting in the forest. We can imagine that when he left his home to hunt he was alone. And he started thinking about the words that his father Jacob had taught him about Jesus Christ.

We learn that Enos knelt down and prayed. And he didn’t just say a quick prayer. He prayed all day, and when night came, he was still praying. He mentioned that “my soul hungered.”

He prayed first for himself, that his sins could be forgiven. And God answered him and said, “Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee.”

But he didn’t stop there. After he was forgiven, he started praying for his family, the Nephites. And then he prayed for his enemies, the Lamanites, that the Lord would still love them and preserve their records.

This is more or less the account that we are able to learn about from the words written in the book of Enos but what exactly can we learn from this man's experience?I think that sometimes we think prayer is supposed to be quick and perfect. Enos teaches us that real prayer is honest and personal as he wrestled with God.

I also wanted to highlight the order of Enos's prayer. First we pray for us, then our heart grows and we start praying for others. Then even for those who are hard to love. This was a good reminder for me to put the first things first but at the same time not forgetting about the important other things that follow.

The last point that I wanted to touch on was the change in Enos after this prayer. I believe that Enos left that forest and that prayer a different man than when he first entered. This change must have come from the faith and real intent of Enos during his time wrestling with God. In the end, prayer is how we communicate with our Heavenly Father and it is also the manner in which we get to know Christ.

Apart from this short spiritual thought I wanted to let you all know that I am loving every second of my mission! I will be receiving transfer news next week and I will let you know if I end up staying or going. Thank you for all of your many prayers!

Have a good week!!

Élder Park 😄✌🏼🇨🇱