We usually look at this like a missionary scripture, right?
Enos goes into the forest to pray for his own soul.
After a long wrestle and many hours, he hears God’s voice reassuring him that his sins are forgiven.
And then, Enos begins to feel a desire for the welfare of his brethren.
“When I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren”. (Enos 1:9)
So the lesson is that when you feel conversion, you should naturally want to share the gospel with other people.
While that is 100% a beautiful application of this scripture, what if there is a different way to look at it?
True prayer is when our faith in God is so strong, that our wills become the same.
“Prayer is the act by which the will of the father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other.” -Bible Dictionary, “Prayer”
Enos went into the forest looking for freedom for his own soul.
But as his faith grew stronger and stronger during this lengthy prayer, his desires began to change, too!
At first, he desired to help his brethren.
And then, he desired that God would preserve the record of his people so the Lamanites could one day read it and be converted.
Numerous other prophets before him and after him would have that same desire.
Why?
Because they were all aligning their wills to God’s.
In our lives, this looks like saying a prayer to know how to deal with your boss, and leaving the prayer with the desire to search for a new job.
This looks like praying for your ministering sister who won’t respond, and leaving with a specific thought of something you can drop off.
This looks like praying for your child to solve their problems, and leaving with a deep love for them, no matter what struggles they go through.
When our faith in God increases, we trust that His will is really what is best for us.
And when that faith and trust grow, we naturally allow God’s will to take precedence over our own.
We just have to engage in the wrestle to let our own will go.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
3 Responses
I love your inspirational thoughts. Thank you for relying on the spirit to enlighten so many.
Wow! This is such a powerful and profound message. Aligning our will to the almighty Father’s is exactly the lesson to be learned from Enos! I had never thought of it quite like this before – thank you so much for writing about this.
Love this! Such a beautiful and powerful insight!