It is the destruction of the wicked that was Nephi’s desire when he brought the famine. Having achieved that, Nephi was willing to free the land, and so he prays to God. Of course God had given him the power, so the conclusion is certain. It is quite probable that this prayer was given in public. This was a public problem, and it required a public solution. Just as Nephi’s public accusation of the murderer of Seezoram made him known as a prophet, so too the breaking of the famine after a public request to God would not only solidify Nephi as a prophet, but it would highlight God as the one who had the power to act rather than Nephi. There had been those who had thought Nephi himself to be a god (Helaman 9:41). By praying in public and accrediting the release of the grip of famine to God, Nephi affirmed God’s preeminence and Nephi’s position as God’s servant rather than a god himself.