The Power of Prayer!

     This week has been a really special week here in Issaquah! I have loved every minute of it. It seems that every week I am learning so much and growing more than I can believe. It's such a blessing to be here. 
     This past week I have become even more grateful for prayer and just amazed by the power of it. I have also realized how blessed I am. A few weeks ago a man and his friend kind of stumbled out of their door. They were both drunk and we shared a brief message with them and told them we would return later in the week. We went over on Monday night and began to share the restoration with Rob. The lesson was less than spectacular, with all of the bottles and kegs around the room, it wasn’t a place where the Spirit could be.  A few minutes into the lesson we realized that we better reschedule a meeting at the church because he was never going to be touched by the spirit in that environment. So the next day we met Rob at the church and took him on a tour of the Church. As we walked into the Chapel we were all overwhelmed by the spirit that was there. It was amazing to take a moment of silence and really feel the presence of the Lord in the room. We both felt prompted to ask Rob what he was feeling, and he looked at us and said, I feel at peace. Rob struggles with depression and post-tramatic stress syndrome. He's also only able to eat one meal a day at the firehouse down the street because he has been out of a job for months. To look at a man with this many struggles and to hear that he feels at peace brought me to tears. The Spirit in that church building as we shared the restorations was unbelievable. Everyday we met him this week he would ride up to the church with a different look on his face.  Everyday his smile was bigger and his face was brighter. Literally everyday he looked totally different as he continues to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ!  He wants to be baptized at the end of the month! This could be a challenge with some of the court struggles he is going through but to see a man that has been so lost and unsure, change to someone with hope is amazing. The gospel is true. As I watch and meet with Rob, he can't wait to be at the church. Because he finally feels at peace there! I know that through the gospel, we can be changed, changed in a good way. Brought closer to God. 
     Another amazing story this week was with one of our investigators, her name is Natalie. We met Natalie a few weeks ago and have been struggling to get back in touch. Last week we taught her a short lesson, and this week we watched the Restoration dvd with her. We called her in the morning to double check at the time we said we would come over because we weren't sure if we said 1 or 2.  She goes “Well you can just come teach me at 1 and then come back over again at 2!”  Haha she also loves the Spirit that the message brings to her home. On Friday when we met she began to tell us why she loves learning about the Mormon church so much. The past few months she has been getting pressure from her mom to have her son baptized into the Catholic church but it just didn’t feel right to her. She began to pray and ask God where she should have her son baptized. That week we knocked on her door. She said, ya know what, I just don’t believe in coincidences! The power of prayer is amazing!                This week I was reading in the bible dictionary and was again amazed at the definition of prayer, you all probablly have read this but I just want to share it with you. Prayer: …. “As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondance with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointer means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” Isn't that just amazing! It helped me realize how important prayer is. And not only that but that prayer is a power! And it’s a gift that I think is often not used enough. Prayers are always answered, not in our time but in God's!  As Natalie speaks about prayer she knows that through sincere prayer she can come to know that our message is true! There is no greater way that our faith will grow than through prayer! 
     I love you all! Every week when I type this blog email to send home, I pray that I will be inspired to say something that will help someone, as I have been blessed enough to go through these experiences. I hope that I am able to share things over these next two years that can inspire in some way. Be safe and God Bless you!  Elder Aiken.