"Neither would they observe the performances of the church, to continue in prayer and supplication to God daily, that they might not enter into temptation."
This verse was speaking of a particular group of people who had once worshiped the Lord, but then had rejected Him and His gospel. And I thought how peculiar it can be that the human heart will reject all that is good for it.
Supplication simply means a humble request, or to plead humbly, or to ask for earnestly. What prevents humility? The answer to this I suppose could be multiple things, and for me, I find that many things can harden a heart, leading to the antithesis of humility: pride.
What is wrong with prayer and supplication? I have felt at times the struggle to not pray. I've experienced how hard it can to bring oneself to a point of humility, kneeling before one's Maker. But when I've waged that battle and won, it has been in that precise moment that I have found the most tender feelings possible in my life. I'd pushed through my own stubbornness and yielded to the Lord's gentle peace.
It almost seems paradoxical. But I've felt it in my own life. When we kneel before God and give up our soul for Him (in all other forms of service, too, for His children) it seems we stand tallest in His eyes. The peace that comes in such a moment is one I cherish and hope to continue in!
These individuals mentioned in Alma 31:10 had strayed into paths of pride. It's a journey I hope never to follow. The best preventative measure is precisely found in the antithesis of their actions, instead to keep myself kneeling "in prayer and supplication to God daily, that [I] might not enter into temptation." How easy it might be to forget, which is why I continue this blog.
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