3 Nephi 17-19 Christ's Teaching in America. The Power of Prayer

3 Nephi 17-19 Christ's Teaching in America. The Power of Prayer

Attention Activity
Tell the class that you recently lost something very important (like a wallet, purse, keys, etc.) Have the class tell you the process you should go through to find it again. Write down their answers. If they don’t include saying a prayer, ask, “At what point should I pray for help to find it?” If they do say prayer include it in the list. At the end of the discussion ask, “What effect does prayer have on finding something that is lost?” This teaches us one of the principles of the day. Prayer produces outcomes.

Class Discussion
Select passages from 3 Nephi 17-19 for examples of Jesus or the people praying. Have class members find what the outcomes are for some of these examples. One that you will want to be sure to include is 3 Nephi 19:24-25. The people pray and they are blessed by the Savior. This is also the only place in the scriptures where it mentions Jesus smiling. Ask, “Why does prayer make God so pleased?” “What is the connection between prayer and the God’s presence being in our lives?” (This can take most of the lesson if you have a talkative class and if you go in depth into some of these principles. If you like you can extend this portion by asking, “Find other examples in the scriptures of prayer producing outcomes. You might start them off with Moses parting the Red Sea, or Lehi praying for where to hunt.)
The next principle is that prayer protects. Ask the class what the meaning of the word “therefore” is. We see it often in the scriptures, but what does it mean? Share the meaning: in consequence of that; as a result; consequently. So every time we see the word “therefore” it is explaining a consequence of the previous verses. Look in 3 Nephi 18:19 for what the “therefore” is. (Pray always, especially in our families.) Because it is a therefore verse we can look in the previous verses to see what prayer will do for us. Verse 18 says that Satan is always trying to get us. Ask, “When have you felt the protective power of prayer in your life?” After a few examples, ask for other examples from the scriptures where people were protected by prayer.

Application
Ask, “With all the things that you have been taught in your life about prayer, what are some of the things that you can do to improve your prayers to be more like the Nephites?”