When life is beating you down, relying on the Lord through prayer can help you confront your trials.
A highlight of this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson is the classic scripture 3 Nephi 5:13, which starts off, “For behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.” It’s clear why this scripture-turned-powerful-mantra has touched the hearts of so many people. But it’s easy to forget that the Nephites’ actions preceding this statement of discipleship provide a perfect emblem of what it actually means to be a disciple of Christ.
Image by Jack Sharp
In 3 Nephi 4:7–12, we find the Nephites facing the Gadianton Robbers, a band of thieves and assassins, in the first battle of a short war. Verse seven describes the Gadianton Robbers as “great and terrible” both because of their armor and “their being dyed with blood.” Honestly, facing any army would already be scary, but facing opponents coated in blood? It’s no wonder that the Nephites fell to their knees when they saw their enemies (verse 8). The Nephites had to be utterly terrified—at least, that’s what the Gadianton Robbers thought.
In verse 10, we get a startling correction to the Gadianton Robbers’ assumption: “But in this thing [the Gadianton Robbers] were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection.” When confronted with a terrifying trial, the Nephites fell to their knees—not in fear but in faith, choosing prayer and faith in God over fear of their difficulty.
Verse 10 continues by saying, “When the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon [the Nephites] were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord [the Nephites] did receive them.” It’s one thing to endure hardships with grit and determination, but to actively rely on God’s strength provides access to a miraculous power. This power gave the Nephites a decisive victory, ultimately leading to them finally rooting out the Gadianton Robbers.
As we learn from the discipleship of the Nephites, sometimes trials may require that we arise from prayer to press forward in the strength of the Lord. And, terrifying though it may be, the Lord promises that if we face our struggles in his strength, the trials will “fall back from before [us]” (verse 12).
Discover more about connections between discipleship and confronting trials in this week’s Come, Follow Me reading in 3 Nephi 4.
Source: ChurchofJesusChrist.org
—Merlin Blanchard, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY DIANA SIMUMPANDE
Read more about the power of prayer in Truman G. Madsen’s BYU devotional “Souls Aflame: The Prayer Heritage of the Latter-day Saints.”
Learn more about taking control of your choices in Abigail Ellis’s article “The Power of Choosing the Right.”