A Preparatory Prayer

I don't know how to put into words what I've been thinking about lately. The concept combines Moroni's Diligence with the act of praying for strength to resist temptation. In this blog, probably multiple times but at least once recently, I've recommended the habit of praying for strength in the face of temptation. "When you're tempted, pray." But there's also wisdom in praying well before that. In Luke 22, which my family read last night, Jesus told His disciples to "Pray, lest ye enter into temptation" (verse 46). The prayer wasn't a request for strength to resist a present temptation, but the strength to resist (or the grace to avoid) a future one. Moroni didn't build his strongholds as the Lamanites were attacking, but well before then. A wise soldier puts his armor on, not when a battle starts, but before then. We should try to have the Armor of God on all the time. We should put it on, and keep putting more layers on, as often as we can, whenever we can, so we can be ready for battle even before a temptation comes. Because if we don't, by the time we realize we're being attacked, it might already be too late. We need to keep our guard up. We need to keep our armor on all the time, because we never know when the next temptation will come. We need to be ready.