The Power of Prayer
Above: Trish Spoon. Cover photo and above photography by Sally Casas.
Praying in accord with the will of our Heavenly Father allows Him to test us, to strengthen us and to help us achieve our full potential. Father in Heaven wants to hear from His children. Through prayer, we can show our love for God. We may pray to Him any time. Such is the case for Trish Spoon of Watauga and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She believes in the power of prayer due to personal examples in her life that Heavenly Father is listening.
By Debby Adair
Trish, three years old. Image courtesy of Trish Spoon.
When she was a child, Trish’s mother liked it when she would sing. She remembers a special Mother’s Day program when she was around six years old. “I was asthmatic as a child, so whenever I would get a cough, it was one of those racking, shakes-your-whole-body coughs that go on and on and on.” She developed one of those about a week before she was to sing. Since singing puts a strain on the throat which activates that cough reflex, she didn’t think she could do it. Even with her mother’s assurances that she’d be fine, Trish was worried that she was going to have a big coughing fit in front of the whole congregation.
In their home, there wasn’t really a place to be alone except the bathroom. “I went into the bathroom, knelt by the bathtub, and prayed. That was the first time I remember kneeling down to pour my heart out in prayer. ‘Please help me get through this song. Help me to do my best.’” She was still coughing Sunday morning. The church meeting was packed. Trish was nervous yet had faith that God would help her. “When it came time for me to sing, that cough just stopped. I got up there, singing my song perfectly. Sat down, and started coughing again. That was the moment I realized the power of prayer, the power of faith. And how we all need Heavenly Father's help at some point in our lives. When asked when I started to believe in a loving God, it was that moment.”
“We can access the power of God through living righteously and seeking to do His will. Through this power, people throughout history have healed the sick, raised the dead, received personal revelation to help them make difficult decisions, and many other incredible acts.”
–President Russell M. Nelson
“There was a time the Lord guided me. Being a single mom, I can count time after time after time when the Lord guided me to do something that made little sense.”
Trish was a single mother when her youngest child was born. She also had two toddlers and an elementary school child. The baby was having issues where he could not keep food down. It would just go right through him, and he was losing weight and getting dangerously thin. Trish tried everything to get him to take the formula. Nothing would stay. One day, she sat in the kitchen, worry straining her heart, holding her son and she turned to prayer. “I asked the Lord to please help me know how to help this child. I opened my eyes and saw a banana that had turned black laying there on the counter. I felt inspired to mash up that banana into the formula and give it to him. That completely turned around his whole digestive system and he started eating food.”
“Prayer is your direct connection to Heavenly Father, who is always ready to listen and bless you. You can strengthen your connection to Him by praying with purpose and intent. This includes asking to know what Heavenly Father wants you to do, listening for His answers, and acting on promptings you receive. When you pray with purpose and intent, you can be blessed with increased strength, peace, and a closer relationship to God.”
Gospel Living 03-08-21.
Prayer brings peace and acceptance in difficult circumstances
Trish’s three sons from left to right: Rjay (youngest) Adam (oldest son) and Jared (middle son). Image Courtesy of Trish Spoon.
Trish’s youngest son died from meningitis B at the age of 30. He was a talented musician and vocalist and managed an upscale loft building in the Financial District of Los Angeles. In 2012, he and his friends rented a cabin up at Bear Lake in Southern California. Rjay never made it to the cabin. Concerned, his friends went back and found Rjay unresponsive on the floor of his apartment.
Meanwhile, Trish received the horrible phone call that her son was in the ICU and no one knew exactly why Rjay had collapsed. She gave his friend, Casey, permission to approve whatever needed to happen until she could get there and she immediately said a prayer that she will never forget. “Please help him get through this.” At the end of the prayer these words came unbidden to her mind and she said, “Thy will be done.” Trying to get a flight from her home in Reno to LA was near impossible and when she finally got a flight and onto the plane, she was escorted off to speak with someone waiting at the terminal. Heart pounding, she found her ex-brother-in-law, waiting for her with urgent news.
Rjay had coded four times and they kept bringing him back. The fifth time he coded, the nurse turned to Casey and asked, “What do you want me to do?” Casey stood there for a minute and then heard Rjay’s voice. “Casey, stop this now.” Casey told them to let him go.
Trish believes that letting him go was the only choice.
Trish’s oldest child and daughter, Marnie. Image courtesy of Trish Spoon.
She had lost her son suddenly without being able to say good-bye and without the peace of knowing what had caused his death. Prayers for peace were answered through her daughter who is an ER nurse. They made a time log of the symptoms, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Her daughter stated “I think I know what happened, but if what I think happened, he would have had a fever. And there is nothing in the records that says he had a fever.” Until they looked at Rjay’s phone.The last message sent was to the front desk. “Can you bring me some ibuprofen? I have a fever.”
They called the LA Coroner’s office and asked for a blood screen to test for meningitis right away. Meningitis B was confirmed and Trish had the peace of knowing what had happened to her son. “I am grateful for my heritage that brought me to where I am and where I was then. In this promised land, in this day and time when the Gospel is restored to the earth. I am grateful for wonderful parents that brought the gospel into my life and their commitment and faith. One thing that I am really firm about is: I will never give up on my kids. I will never quit trying. I pray every day that the Lord guides me to do and say those things that will bring them closer to Him.”
God really wants to hear from you
Follow Jesus Christ’s example by kneeling and saying a heartfelt prayer to God. Really talk to Him about your life—the good, the bad, and the ugly. He wants to hear it all. Then spend time quietly listening to anything the Holy Spirit might tell your mind and heart.
Lastly, we may not see Christ, but all of us can Hear Him. President Nelson said: “In those two words —'Hear Him’ —God gives us the pattern for success, happiness, and joy in this life. We are to hear the words of the Lord, hearken to them, and heed what He has told us!”
Trish with most of her grandchildren. Photo courtesy of Trish Spoon.
Debby Adair serves as a Hurst Stake Website Editor and Reporter. She is a former Financial Compliance Officer / Financial Fraud Examiner. She spends her days enjoying retirement, traveling internationally, cooking and interior decorating.