The Power of Music

We are practically surrounded by music. Ringtones, movies, YouTube, iPods, etc. Music influences us; sometimes for the better, sometimes for the not so good.

Music is something that moves us, enlightens us and sometimes angers us. Music can make us feel these and other emotions and makes us think.
I love music. I especially love songs and I love singing. And I really like stuff from musicals and older movies. And, as I'm sure you know, it's pretty easy to get a song stuck in your head whether you want it there or not.

Where I'm going with all this is a question: What do you listen to? I mean, yeah, you listen to music and songs and stuff but...do you know the lyrics to your favorite songs? Do you know what the lyrics mean? I'm not trying to hack down your music library, I'm just suggesting that you look at what what to listen to.

Music has a powerful influence on us. For example, music can help you study. But it can also hinder your study. It all depends on the music. Music that has a repeating beat to it does not help you study. Basically, info goes in one ear and out the other.
Music that doesn't have a repeating beat to it, classical music for instance, helps you study.
(Songs can also help you memorize stuff.)

Music can also do other amazing things. Things as amazing as bringing people out of comas. (Believe it or not it has happened! ...Just not to me or anyone I know.)

Music is, in a way, magical. It can be peaceful, soothing and...inspiring. Music can do so much.
A friend of mine has a sign on her wall that says,

Bach gave us God's Word. Mozart gave us God's laughter. Beethoven gave us God's fire. God gave us Music that we might pray without words.

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My information on how music helps us study and can bring people out of comas, is from a talk Michael Ballam gave once.

I was able to find the "Bach gave us...Mozart gave us..." quote on the New York Christian College online. It says the quote was from outside an opera house.

Prayer

I know not by what methods rare,

But this I know, God answers prayer.

I know that He has given His Word,

Which tells me prayer is always heard,

And will be answered, soon or late.

And so I pray and calmly wait.

I know not if the blessing sought

Will come in just the way I thought;

But leave my prayers with Him alone,

Whose will is wiser than my own,

Assured that He will grant my quest,

Or send some answer far more blest.1

This is a great little poem. 

I really like how it says, "I know not by methods rare,/ But this I know, God answers prayer." We don't have to know the science of how our prayers get to heaven (that's pretty much impossible anyway), we just have faith that He hears and answers them.

There's a hymn called Did You Think To Pray? and the lyrics go like this:

1. Ere you left your room this morning,

Did you think to pray?

In the name of Christ, our Savior,

Did you sue for loving favor

As a shield today?

(Chorus)

Oh, how praying rests the weary!

Prayer will change the night to day.

So, when life gets dark and dreary,

Don't forget to pray.

2. When your heart was filled with anger,

Did you think to pray?

Did you plead for grace, my brother,

That you might forgive another

Who had crossed your way?

3. When sore trials came upon you,

Did you think to pray?

When your soul was full of sorrow,

Balm of Gilead did you borrow

At the gates of day?

This is a great song! It's asking if we remember to pray doing our lives, not just meal prayers and morning and night prayers. All those might seem like a lot of prayers already but there's no such thing as "too prayer."
I don't know how accurate my source is but I heard that St. Patrick (before he was St. Patrick) prayed 100 times a day! (Let me repeat, I don't know how accurate that is.)

One thing I've learned can be a helpful way to use prayer is to pray for comfort and reassurance. At times when I feel stressed and I'm pretty sure I'm going to die from the strain of life and homework, I can pray and find peace.

Prayer isn't just important because it can help and comfort us; it's our connection to our Creator, our Heavenly Father.
We can ask Him any thing and He'll answer us, it just might not be right away and maybe not in the way we expect - or want - it to.

So, no matter where we are or what the question is, we can pray and receive guidance.

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1 This poem was shared by Ezra Taft Benson in his talk "Prayer" which can be found on lds.org