“More purpose in prayer,” (“More Holiness Give Me”, Phillip Paul Bliss). If we feel that our prayers have become somewhat formulaic, like the vain repetitions that the Savior warned against, then if we want our prayers to become more purposeful, then we can learn a lot from the prophet Enos. For starters, if we haven't found enough meaning or substance in our prayers, then we need to keep praying. Enos prayed all day and all night. There were probably a lot of stretches during that time where we felt bored, or foolish, or tired. But he wanted to be forgiven for his sins so he kept praying until his prayers were answered. We might think that that's all well and good for him to keep praying until he got his answer, but we've prayed lots of times and didn't get the answer all in one go. Maybe what we were praying for didn't line up with the Lord's timing, but maybe we just didn't pray long enough. It is important that Enos did start with praying for himself and obtaining forgiveness for his sins. It might seem selfish for us to pray for ourselves instead of for someone else, but at the end of the day, if we have sins weighing us down because we are not yet right with God, are the prayers of an unforgiven sinner the kinds of prayers that others might even want. The good news is that once we have received forgiveness, if we are anything like Enos, we will then turn our focus outwards. However long Enos had been praying for himself, he only doubled down when it came to praying for others. And he didn't just stop with his friends and neighbors. After praying for his own people, Enos prayed just as hard or harder for those who considered themselves his enemies. If we want more purpose in prayer, we start with ourselves and make sure that we are square with the Lord, but then we keep widening our circle of concern. The more we pray, the more names of those who are in need of our prayers will come flooding into our minds. Our purpose will only grow and grow the longer we pray and the more people we pray for. I know that everyone on this Earth is in need of a prayer for one thing or another, and a lot of us have a list the size of a phone book of reasons that we need heavenly help. If we will only start praying and keep praying, we will find more reasons than we know what to do with.
