Prayer

This week I was studying the references to prayer in the Book of Mormon. One verse in 1 Nephi 18 particularly stood out to me while I was studying.

"And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things." - 1 Nephi 18:3

Nephi does two important things here. First he prays often and second he goes up to the mountain to pray. To me this is significant because it shows Nephi definitely isn't just praying to pray. To him it's a special event. He takes time to do it. You don't go up to the mountain to pray for a few minutes and then leave. If you're going up to the mountain you're going to stay there and really pour your heart out to God.

 This scripture also shows the result of Nephi's diligent prayers. Because of Nephi's diligence and sincere prayers the Lord shows him great things. I think these are things about the kingdom of God and his own life and what God wants him to do.

Like just about every college student I have a lot of questions about my future. What do I want to do after BYU? What kind of jobs should I pursue? What kind of person should I become? I believe Nephi might very well have been asking similar questions to the Lord about his future and this verse teaches me that as I sincerely and diligently seek the Lord in prayer He will show me great things and give me answers to my prayers.