🪶 Medicine Bundle Prayer Meets the Christ Test
🪶 Medicine Bundle Prayer Meets the Christ Test
Wellamotkin — 9/16/2025
🌿 Opening the Sacred Bundle
A few weeks after my spine surgery, I came across a beautiful Personal Medicine Bundle Prayer from the Nemánja tradition—one of the old Indian record groups that honor the “Four Pillars.”
Before meditation, the practitioner lays out sacred items, breathes in consecrated incense, and offers prayers to Heaven, Earth, the Redeemer, Ancestors, Heavenly Beings, and “All Relations.”
It’s a reverent and poetic act.
But as I read it, something stirred in me:
🧭 “Does this draw me closer to Jesus?”
That’s the Christ Test—the true test I use for every teaching, practice, and record.
So let’s walk through this prayer together, step by step, and hold it up to that sacred standard.
☁️ Sky Father & 🌎 Earth Mother
The prayer begins with gratitude to Tsi Aylohway (Sky Father) and Pah Aylohway (Earth Mother)—thanking them for the gifts of physical creation and spiritual intelligence.
✅ Christ Test Result:
This part is reverent and beautiful. Jesus constantly thanked the Father, and the scriptures honor the divine creative partnership (e.g., Alma 30:44; Moses 2–3).
⚠ But: The prayers don’t explicitly invoke Christ as Mediator here.
In Christ’s own pattern, He prayed to the Father and instructed us to pray to the Father in His name (3 Nephi 18:19).
👉 Verdict: Spiritually rich—could be strengthened by anchoring the thanks “in the name of Christ.”
✨ The Redeemer — Center of the Prayer
“Redeemer, Peacemaker, architect of the Way, friend and protector of my noble agency…”
✅ Christ Test Result:
This is the heart of the prayer. Ayahtsuhway = Jesus the Christ.
Here the speaker acknowledges His role as Redeemer, protector, and guide. They ask for His help against the Accuser’s voice and seek a clearer spiritual state.
This echoes Nephi’s own pleadings (2 Nephi 4:27–35) and Paul’s teachings about spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:11–17).
👉 Verdict: 💯 Strong Christ focus. This is where the soul bends toward the Light.
🪶 Ancestors, Heavenly Beings & the Four Directions
The prayer then turns West, North, East, and South—honoring ancestors, heavenly messengers, and the Haymehnay (Holy Spirit), asking for wisdom, courage, and cleansing.
✅ Christ Test Result:
This mirrors ancient patterns:
Hebrews 12:1 speaks of “a great cloud of witnesses.”
Nephi and Moroni revered the records and voices of past prophets.
The Nemenhah consistently acknowledge ancestors in covenant prayers.
⚠ But: Christ must remain the center. Honoring witnesses is good; replacing Christ with them is not.
If understood as supporting witnesses pointing to Him, this aligns well.
👉 Verdict: ✅ Balanced. Beautiful when Christ stays the cornerstone.
🔥 Looking Within — The South Prayer
“Lend me courage to look deeply within and face that which hisses and snarls into my heart…”
✅ Christ Test Result:
This is powerful. True discipleship involves inner cleansing and repentance.
Alma 5 is basically one big “South Prayer” — searching our hearts, remembering Christ, and changing through His grace.
The invocation of the Haymehnay’s “unquenchable fire” matches Luke 24:32, when the disciples’ hearts burned as Jesus spoke.
👉 Verdict: ✅ Excellent. Humble, Christ-centered introspection.
🌀 Closing Circle — “All My Relations”
The prayer ends with:
“Oh! Ohuhayaykihn, ohuhahtahkwayahsay! All my relations, it is good for us to be here!”
✅ Christ Test Result:
This is a communal acknowledgment, like saying “Amen” in a circle.
It echoes Peter’s words at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:33) and Nemenhah closing blessings that include all creation in covenant fellowship.
👉 Verdict: ✅ Harmonious closure.
📝 Final Christ Test Verdict
| Section | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Father & Mother | ✅ Reverent | Could add Christ’s mediating name |
| Redeemer | 💯 Strong | Central and Christ-focused |
| Ancestors & Beings | ⚠ Balanced | Good when Christ is center |
| Inner Cleansing | ✅ Strong | True repentance and humility |
| Closing | ✅ Positive | Communal harmony |
✨ Overall: This prayer passes the Christ Test.
It invites gratitude, introspection, courage, and heavenly support—drawing the heart toward Christ as Peacemaker.
🕊️ A Simple Enhancement
To fully align with Christ’s pattern, I’d add a short closing like this:
“And all these prayers I bring before Thee, Heavenly Father, in the sacred name of Ayahtsuhway, Jesus the Christ. Amen.”
This harmonizes the ancient Nemenhah form with Jesus’ own teachings on prayer.
💬 Final Thought
Forms and traditions vary, but the test never changes:
“Does it bring me closer to Jesus?”
“Does it help me walk in His Way?”
This prayer, for all its ancient structure and poetic language, ultimately points toward Him.
And that’s what matters most.
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