HOW TO USE THE POWER OF THE ATONEMENT

I adore words.  I am a firm believer in their power.  I constantly pray that I will be blessed with 'the tongue of angels' so I can expound the words of Christ in my speaking, teaching and writing.  There are no more powerful words to me than the name of Jesus Christ.  I always delight to read stories in the scriptures where the ancients have invoked the blessings of heaven by using the Saviour's name.  One such example is Alma who delivered himself and Amulek from prison by pleading for strength according to their faith which was in Christ (Alma 14:26). 

To make the Atonement active in our lives, we need to call upon its' power in such a manner that it would affirm our faith in Jesus Christ.  If we do not believe in Him, we have no claim on His power.  When working on something as serious as overcoming addictions, we might need to do this several times a day.  The Atonement is the source by which power will come to us that has been taken away.  The Saviour has overcome the world and we can overcome it too through the power He gives us. 

I learnt about this power and how to use it at the time of my divorce when I felt that nothing else would be able to heal the crippling emotional pain I was experiencing.  I invoked the power of the Atonement on daily basis, several times a day, and through it achieved the very result I wanted.  Knowing how powerful words are, I carefully worded my daily petition: 
"Through my faith in Jesus Christ I ask for the power of the Atonement to heal my broken heart, to replace resentment, anger and the sense of injustice with love, peace and forgiveness". 
This phrase became my mantra. I used it every time I felt a wave of pain wash over me. It didn't happen overnight but it happened just like I asked and in good time.  I was healed and survived incredibly well.  Thereafter, I preached about the Atonement and its' healing power many times.  I came to understand it was the greatest tool that was given to us to survive this life.  It was the tool we voted for before this world began.  It was the tool that I think we understood very well in our pre-existence, the only tool through which we could obtain godhood.

When praying for the power of the Atonement to overcome an addiction, I suggest the following wording:

"Through my faith in Jesus Christ I ask for the power of the Atonement to strengthen me in my time of weakness, to give me power over my addiction even unto deliverance."

If you want to be more specific, you could say:

"Through my faith in Jesus Christ I ask for the power of the Atonement to strengthen me in my time of weakness and to free me from my addiction to _______________."

You can use this formula whenever you need to call upon the power of the Atonement for anything you deem is worthy of its assistance.  I testify that it works.  The Saviour is real and so is His power. He suffered indescribable pain so you and I can have eternal life.  And He has provided the way so we can get there.  This is grace.  He cannot live our lives for us so it is up to us to access His grace to lift us to higher ground.  We cannot say that we can't make it, because we can.  Through the grace of God we can do all things.  And if we believe that we can't, we are not His disciples.