"Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."
John 11:41-44
The raising of Lazarus is amazing here, so even though I am going to move on to something else, it is a good thing to stop and consider--just the wonder of God's power, even over death, which seems so final to us.
What struck me today is the prayer to the Father right before this event. Christ mentions it out loud so that we would know that it is something he asked for, which is interesting because even at this moment Christ was being an example and helping us to know that all that he did was his Father's will, and that they were in constant contact.
I think that is something that we can work on in our own lives. We aren't as faithful as Christ was in his mortal ministry, and our hearts aren't aligned with God's will all the time, as he always was, but he gave us a pattern, and showed us how to walk the same path.
Today, let's work on the admonition to "pray always" (D&C 19:38, Luke 21:36, 3 Nephi 18:15). Let's seek the Spirit, and discuss all things with the Lord throughout the day. As we do, we will be walking the path that Christ walked, and learning to become more like him... in addition to getting excellent advice and guidance from our Heavenly Father, who wants to hear from us. That power of prayer is the basis, not only of raising the dead, but of every other miracle that exists. It all starts with communication, and it can change our lives as miraculously as it changed Lazarus.
And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."
John 11:41-44
The raising of Lazarus is amazing here, so even though I am going to move on to something else, it is a good thing to stop and consider--just the wonder of God's power, even over death, which seems so final to us.
What struck me today is the prayer to the Father right before this event. Christ mentions it out loud so that we would know that it is something he asked for, which is interesting because even at this moment Christ was being an example and helping us to know that all that he did was his Father's will, and that they were in constant contact.
I think that is something that we can work on in our own lives. We aren't as faithful as Christ was in his mortal ministry, and our hearts aren't aligned with God's will all the time, as he always was, but he gave us a pattern, and showed us how to walk the same path.
Today, let's work on the admonition to "pray always" (D&C 19:38, Luke 21:36, 3 Nephi 18:15). Let's seek the Spirit, and discuss all things with the Lord throughout the day. As we do, we will be walking the path that Christ walked, and learning to become more like him... in addition to getting excellent advice and guidance from our Heavenly Father, who wants to hear from us. That power of prayer is the basis, not only of raising the dead, but of every other miracle that exists. It all starts with communication, and it can change our lives as miraculously as it changed Lazarus.
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