In the country of China, a Buddhist monk by name of Hua Chi has been praying in the same spot in the temple he lives in. Every day before sunrise, he arrives at the temple steps, places his feet in his footprints and bends down to pray a few thousand times…every day.  Over the course of 20 years, the soles of his feet have become perfectly ingrained in the wood of the floor, and have now reached a depth of 1.2 inches in some places. Because he always uses the same place to pray, the very soles of his feet have become embedded in the floor, in what looks like a homage to that many years of uninterrupted belief. If you google his name you can see the pictures of this man’s devotion and mark he has left in the world.

I love the imagery of this man’s devotion to God. 

The worn floor, 

The familiarity and sacredness.

The slow transformation brought by consistent action, time, and faith. 

The personalized imprint 

And lasting impression.

We learn much about prayer from our Savior Jesus Christ in the Bible. (See Matthew 6: 5-13, Matthew 5:44, Mark 14:38) We can also learn much about prayer from the Book of Mormon, where Jesus taught “Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you…Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name; and whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you. Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.” (3 Nephi 18:19-21)

A prophet from the Book of Mormon asks us to “pray always and not faint; […] that he will consecrate they performance unto, thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.” (2 Nephi 32:9)

The point of prayer is not to change God’s will, but to allow His will to be impressed on our hearts and to open the windows of Heaven or blessings in our lives. The most important change that prayer will bring in our lives will not change be any change in our circumstances, but a change in us.

One prayer at a time.

The personalized imprint.

The lasting impression.

Lovingly,

President Jeff Nygren