Prayer is one of the greatest tools for the gospel teacher. Here are 5 different ways in which prayer can help you fulfill your call to teach:
1. To Understand The Gospel During Personal Study
The Holy Ghost is essential to learn the gospel, and you can’t teach what you don’t know. As the Apostle Paul taught, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” Great teachers depend upon prayerful study to first learn the gospel. The Lord’s counsel to Hyrum Smith applies to all gospel teachers, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.”
2. To Know What To Teach, And How To Teach It
Prayer should be an integral part of preparing lessons. We are taught in Teaching in the Savior’s Way, “As you prayerfully study the scripture passages and prophetic teachings that you are assigned to teach, ask yourself, ‘What do I find here that will be especially meaningful to my class members?’… Let the Spirit guide your planning. He can lead you to scripture passages, prophetic teachings, and ideas in the lesson manual that will be meaningful to class members in ways that you may not have anticipated.”
3. For Individuals In The Class
If you do not regularly pray for class members by name, I highly recommend giving it a try. I have found this to revolutionize (maybe a little too strong of a word) my lessons; as I picture in my mind people who likely will be in my class, people that I consider friends, and pray for them by name. I think of their personalities, their struggles, previous gospel conversations that I have had with them. This guides my lessons, making them much more personal and, therefore, more powerful. Again, from Teaching in The Savior’s Way, “Following the Savior’s example, pray by name for the people you teach who have the greatest needs. Pray to know and understand their specific needs, and ask Heavenly Father to “prepare their hearts” (Alma 16:16) to learn the things that will help meet those needs.”
4. For Confirmation Of The Lesson
After preparing the lesson, it’s appropriate to take the matter to the Lord, in prayer, and get confirmation for what you have prepared. We can apply a principle from Church history, when Oliver Cowdery attempted to translate the Book of Mormon. The Lord explained why Oliver had difficulty in the translation process: “But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” This process works with preparing lessons as well.
Nephi taught, “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.”
5. Right Before The Lesson, For Clarity Of Thought, And To Get In Tune With The Spirit
I have made it a habit to set aside some time for prayer and meditation prior to teaching. During the administration of the Sacrament is a great time for this; I can go over the main points in my mind, and ensure that the lesson is Christ centered. I can picture myself in front of the class, and visualize the flow of the lesson. During this prayer, I actively seek for the Holy Ghost to guide my thoughts and words. I find that this prayer quiets my mind, which previously has been very active during the preparation of the lesson.
I hope these prayers are helpful for you. They are different prayers for different situations, but are serving the same purpose: to invite the Spirit into your teaching. This Spirit will carry the gospel truths deep into the hearts of those you teach, resulting in increased faith in Jesus Christ, which is the first step towards the end goal of Eternal Life.