Alma 8

(September 18, 2013)
I always find it remarkable what happens when I consider the very basic parts of the Gospel.  For example, as I read this chapter I began to think about the nature of prayer.  Alma "labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city."  I have read this multiple times, but I never before asked myself why.

Why would Alma need to wrestle with God in mighty prayer on behalf of the people of Ammonihah?  After all, the Father loved these people far more than Alma did.  Alma wanted to see them converted, but nowhere near to the extent that the Father wanted them to return to Him.  As a father, I don't need one of my children to beg and plead with me to save another of my children – I love all my children and want the best for all of them.  Certainly if I, an imperfect father, am like this then He, as a perfect Father, is more so.  Then why is prayer necessary in this respect?

As I thought on the subject, it really became clear how prayer is the mechanism for aligning our will with the will of the Father.  Alma was praying, but the effect of his prayer wasn't to change the Lord's mind as to the portion of the Spirit He was to pour out on the people of Ammonihah.  It was to change Alma so that he became a better vessel for carrying that Spirit to touch the people of Ammonihah and to better be an instrument in the Lord's hands to bring the people to the Lord.