United In Prayer

Over the next few days, we tried to pray more sincerely, more earnestly, more devotedly, more humbly, more anything we could think of.  We were really hoping that Nathan would not require surgery, but that he would be blessed to be able to get well enough without it instead.

In addition to prayer, we also looked for solace and hope in the Scriptures.  It was there that I came across this verse:

"And, as it is written--Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive." (Doctrine & Covenants 29:6)

After reading that passage, I felt inspired that in order to most effectively exercise our faith that we needed to be "united in prayer."

I discussed my feelings with Bekah and she agreed that it was a good idea.  Our plan was to invite our families to join us in prayer on a specific day at a specific time.  We chose Friday, December 14th at 8pm as the time that we would unite in prayer.

So we called our parents explained our plan to them and invited them to participate.  They eagerly accepted.  We also invited our brothers and sisters as well.  Soon the invitation was extended to grandparents and other family members as well.  We also invited a few of our closest friends to participate as well.

But to our surprise, as our families would comment on the event to their friends, they would ask if they could also participate with us.  And some of them would comment to their friends who also wanted to pray with us.  The response was completely amazing!  More than we could have ever imagined!

At one point I estimated that we had at least 50 people that had expressed their desire to join us in prayer.  The group stretched across several states and numerous religions.  Family, friends, and strangers were excited to unite in prayer with us on Nathan's behalf.

And as exciting as the whole idea of it was, the actuality of the whole thing hit me when one of my mother's friends who had asked if she could participate with us commented, "Can you imagine all those prayers going to God about the same thing at the same time?"

It was actually quite overwhelming to think about!

So on Friday night at 8pm (we had people adjust the time they prayed based off of the time zone they lived in to ensure that we were all praying at the same time) we knelt in prayer for our son.

Bekah and I each prayed individually and then joined in prayer as Nathan's parents.  After the prayer, a very peaceful feeling came over us.  We felt good.  We felt uplifted.  We felt very, very grateful.