“Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.” (D&C 81:5). I have been thinking about what it might mean to strengthen the feeble knees. In the gospel, the thing that we might use our knees for the most is to kneel in prayer. We know from the greatest example of all, even Jesus Christ, that getting help with our prayers is nothing to be ashamed of and in many cases is absolutely necessary. “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:43-44). It was only after Christ was strengthened by the angel that He was able to pray more earnestly and finish the Atonement. One of the most amazing qualities we possess as human beings and and children of God is our capacity, in the midst of overwhelming suffering and anguish, to look beyond our own pain and to exercise compassion and pray for those who seem to us to be suffering as much or more than we are. And what makes it even more beautiful is the very person for whom we are so moved by pity and are praying for may very well be looking towards us and feeling compassion for us and praying for us. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16). We all need our knees strengthened as we kneel and pour out our souls for our own sakes and on behalf of all of those whom we might know and love. So let us pray for one another and strengthen one another that we might all pray more earnestly.
