D. Kelly Ogden from his book ‘8 Mighty Changes God Wants for You’ shares:
These are dangerous times in which we live. When my daughter Sara was only four years old, we accompanied the Jerusalem Branch Boy Scouts on an overnight campout fishing trip to the eastern corner of the Sea of Galilee, near the sight of ancient Bethsaida and near where the Jordan River enters the lake. While the boys were out fishing one day, pulling in some big catfish, maybe a St. Peter’s fish or two, Sara and I went for a walk. I wanted to walk less than a quarter of a mile west from our camp to try to find the mouth of the Jordan River, where it flows into the lake. Our way was blocked by thickets or tall canes or reeds, and after some time fighting our way through the thick jungle of reeds and undergrowth, knowing we must be very close to the river, we found it was simply impossible to move forward. We were stuck in the middle of the tall thickets unable to see in any direction and hardly able to move. I was tired, totally out of energy and perplexed. Sara looked up at me and said: “Daddy, why don’t we pray?”
We folded our arms and prayed, asking Heavenly Father to help us find our way out of the thick tangle of vegetation. We forged on, back in the general direction of our camp until we came to a barbed-wire fence. Having maneuvered our way over the fence, I looked back and noticed on the fence an internationally recognized triangular sign for a minefield. We had just made our way through a minefield. Needless to say, I was thankful for a daughter who had suggested we pray, and for a Father who answered our prayer.
The scriptures say this world is a field (see Matthew 13:38, Doctrine and Covenants 86:2); and these days it is a minefield! How do you avoid stepping in the wrong places? Be sure you are staying morally clean. Be sure you are studying the scriptures, fasting, keeping the Sabbath day holy, serving others and, if you are endowed) worshiping in the temple. And be sure to go each day to the “throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) and send up your petitions to the Lord. If you are not trying to do all these things, you can be sure you will be stepping into dangerous situations. If you are trying to do all these things, then you are “worthy to stand.”~D. Kelly Ogden ‘8 Mighty Changes God Wants for You’ (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004), 17-19 (continued with ‘What the Lord Says about Prayer’)
