Winning the War Against Evil

This is another talk from priesthood session by Elder James J. Hamula. This talk was directed to the members of the Aaronic Priesthood, but of course I found applications for myself too.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the looming future for my children. I picked this talk to study because of its title, hoping to find ideas to help me better prepare the boys for all the challenges that will surely face them:

"Make no mistake about it - the focus of his war is now on you - you who seek to 'keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.'"

"Understand, my young friends, that there is only one way to win the war against Satan, and that is to win it in the same way it was won in the beginning."

He then quotes scripture in Revelations that speaks of how the war in heaven was won by:
1-faith in Christ's atonement
2-testimony
3-consecration of one's self to God's work

To help us all understand how to aquire these things he cites three simple things we can do:
1-Find a quiet place each day to pray

At our house, we pray before meals, have a quick 30 second family prayer before we put the boys to bed, and Jon and I try to remember to pray as a couple. Honestly though, I can't remember the last time I said a vocal pray by myself. I always pray in my head, which can be detrimental when I am tired. My thoughts wander, I go through the motions, I say amen. Elder Hamula said, "Prayer is a precondition to revelation." Even though this is so simple, I just realized that I will not personally know how I can best help my children if I am not receiving revelation from the Lord. If meaningful, personal prayer is the way to get that revelation, then I need to change the way I am doing it. PERSONAL GOAL: Say VOCAL prayers (hey, I'll go in my closet or something) tonight.

2-Hear the voice of the Lord

This all ties in with "Unleashing the Dormant Spirit" article. Make the Holy Ghost a part of my life because this is how I will hear the voice of the Lord.

3-Obey His word when it comes

Elder Hamula says, "His word will not only love and comfort, but invariably insturct and correct. Do as He bids you to do, not matter how hard it may seem to you, and do it now."

Everyone wants to be loved and comforted, but it is much harder to listen when we need to change, and even harder to make those changes. But that is how I can gain power over evil and be more willing to set aside my own desires for the good of others.