3 years ago

Watch Ye Therefore, and Pray Always
By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Today I expand my call for prayer to all people from every country around the world.

My dear brothers and sisters, during the last week of His mortal ministry, Jesus taught His disciples to “watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”1

Among the “things that shall come to pass” before His Second Coming are “wars and rumours of wars[,] … famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”2

In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Savior said, “And all things shall be in commotion; … for fear shall come upon all people.”3

Certainly, we live in a time during which things are in commotion. Many people fear the future, and many hearts have turned away from their faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

News reports are filled with accounts of violence. Moral denigration is published online. Cemeteries, churches, mosques, synagogues, and religious shrines have been vandalized.

A global pandemic has reached virtually every corner of the earth: millions of people have been infected; over a million have died. School graduations, church worship services, marriages, missionary service, and a host of other important life events have been disrupted. Additionally, countless people have been left alone and isolated.

Economic upheavals have caused challenges for so many, especially for the most vulnerable of our Heavenly Father’s children.

We have seen people passionately exercising their right to peaceful protest, and we have seen angry mobs riot.

At the same time, we continue to see conflicts all around the world.

I think often of those of you who are suffering, worried, afraid, or feeling alone. I assure each one of you that the Lord knows you, that He is aware of your concern and anguish, and that He loves you—intimately, personally, deeply, and forever.

Each night when I pray, I ask the Lord to bless all who are burdened with grief, pain, loneliness, and sadness. I know that other Church leaders echo that same prayer. Our hearts, individually and collectively, go out to you, and our prayers go to God in your behalf.

I spent several days last year in the northeastern part of the United States visiting American and Church history sites, attending meetings with our missionaries and our members, and visiting government and business leaders.

On Sunday, October 20, I spoke to a large gathering near Boston, Massachusetts. As I was speaking, I was prompted to say, “I plead with you … to pray for this country, for our leaders, for our people, and for the families that live in this great nation founded by God.”4

I also said that America and many of the nations of the earth, as in times past, are at another critical crossroads and need our prayers.5

My plea was not in my prepared remarks. Those words came to me as I felt the Spirit prompt me to invite those present to pray for their country and their leaders.

Today I expand my call for prayer to all people from every country around the world. No matter how you pray or to whom you pray, please exercise your faith—whatever your faith may be—and pray for your country and for your national leaders. As I said last October in Massachusetts, we stand today at a major crossroads in history, and the nations of the earth are in desperate need of divine inspiration and guidance. This is not about politics or policy. This is about peace and the healing that can come to individual souls as well as to the soul of countries—their cities, towns, and villages—through the Prince of Peace and the source of all healing, the Lord Jesus Christ.

During the past few months I have had the impression come to me that the best way to help the current world situation is for all people to rely more fully upon God and to turn their hearts to Him through sincere prayer. Humbling ourselves and seeking heaven’s inspiration to endure or conquer what is before us will be our safest and surest way to move confidently forward through these troubling times.

The scriptures highlight prayers offered by Jesus as well as His teachings about prayer during His mortal ministry. You will remember the Lord’s Prayer:

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

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