#1 Prayer 86/100

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!