Gratitude
This little munchkin is so
stinkin' cute.
She was dancing around this
sign at the restaurant today.
I'm so grateful for her antics.
She keeps me laughing!
I'm letting her eat paper
while I write this.
Anything to keep her occupied
so I can write:0)
The Word
Bible Dictionary, "Prayer"
"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part...Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already will to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of blessings."
On my heart...
The first thing that I wanted to share was about
how prayer is a huge part of uncovering strength.
The other day I was thinking about something
my old stake president said to me.
I think I shared it here.
He was telling me that if I ever felt
like I was less than to get on my knees
and ask Heavenly Father to teach me how
to do better, to teach me the truth about myself.
Thinking more about prayer,
I've realized that it is so important to
start our search for strength talking
to our Heavenly Father and asking
Him to grant us the strength we need.
After all, that strength comes through Him.
I can tell when I have forgotten that
I am His daughter because my prayers
aren't a real conversation with Him.
They tend to be more repetitive
and not heartfelt and sincere.
I'm learning to think more before
I pray about what I want to say
to my Heavenly Father.
It helps me to be more sincere.
Today I was having lunch with
an old friend and as we were
talking she taught me something.
She has had some hard things
happening in her life the last
few years and as she was telling
me about them she talked about
how she got on her knees and
spoke to Heavenly Father about it.
I am still working on being more like this.
I'm trying to take my problems to Him
before I complain about them or
let them fuel my depression and anxiety.
I know that I can receive the strength I
need to conquer or to endure
whichever I'm asked to do by Him
because I have felt that strength
flow into me and help me.
One last thing I want to share
is that prayer is not only a
huge answer to
changing our circumstances,
but also our perspectives
and especially our hearts.
Satan is there.
He's waiting for us to listen
to the little lies he plants in our heads.
He doesn't want us to feel strong,
so he drags us down one tiny millimeter
at a time until we are drowning.
This brings to mind the prayer
of a young boy named Joseph.
Before his prayer was answered
that day in the Sacred Grove
He was seized upon by a dark
power that overcame him.
Here is what he said about this:
"...exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver meout of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction--not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being--just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me" JS-H 1:16.
Just as he was about to give up
and sink into despair and
abandon himself to destruction.
That is when He was delivered.
Sometimes we pray,
but don't receive answers
or strength right away.
Sometimes He doesn't deliver
us until the last moment.
I've learned in my life
that sometimes we get to
experience the darkness
and despair for a little
while, but He
ALWAYS,
ALWAYS,
ALWAYS
will deliver us from it.
He will
ALWAYS,
ALWAYS,
ALWAYS
give us strength.
And when He does
we can receive the most
precious experiences of our lives.
I know this is true.
I have lived it many times.
God is so good!
He loves us!
He wants us to learn
and become like Him
and sometimes that takes
heartbreak and pain.
And other times it takes
joy and goodness.
We get to experience
both so we can become
who He needs us to be.
I love my life!
Prayer changes not
just circumstances,
but our hearts!
