“His Love through Her Prayer,” Ensign, September 2016
His Love through Her Prayer
The author lives in Utah, USA.
My Relief Society president asked if she might begin our visiting teaching interview with prayer. I expected her to ask for the presence of the Spirit as we discussed the needs of the sisters I visited. This she did, but then she proceeded to pray earnestly and specifically for me in the challenges I was facing—some of which she knew, others that she didn’t.
I cannot express the comfort and joy that filled my soul as I heard her pray for me. Outside my own family, I had never before heard someone pray for me in this way. I truly felt that my Relief Society president was inspired to convey the love and blessings of the Lord to me.
After I collected myself, we discussed the sisters for whom I had responsibility, and my leader compassionately encouraged me in my efforts to support one particular sister who was also experiencing difficulties.
I left this far-from-ordinary interview with a renewed hope for my own situation and a heightened sense of the importance of caring for others. While my family has always prayed for those we know are in need, now I do it more frequently and specifically in my individual prayers as well. I know from personal experience that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man [or woman] availeth much” (James 5:16).