We need to pray to the Lord

After Nephi and Lehi (prophets of the Lord) had had much success throughout the land in teaching and baptizing, they were taken and put into prison because of their preaching. When the captors were about to take the prophets and slay them, the Lord encircled His prophets "as if by fire" (Helaman 5:23). The captors panicked and were soon encircled by darkness. The voice of the Lord came to them three times, saying that they must repent. "And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed" (Helaman 5:42).

In our society, we often forget the Lord and find ourselves surrounded in spiritual darkness. Our minds are clouded so that we can't think straight. We have reached the last straw and can't go any further. We have gone too far without the Lord. We need to pray to him.

We don't have to wait, though, until we have reached such a point. We need to pray everyday, every minute, every second of our lives. We need to remember Jesus' counsel to pray always that we might be able to escape all those things that might come upon us.

My prayers are constantly answered. When I need help, I pray. When I'm sick, I pray. When I'm in a bad mood, I pray. I know that my prayers are answered, and I know that every person who prays in faith will receive answers to his or her prayer (see James 1:5-6).