Prayer is one of those things that most of us learned about since we can first remember. Whether you believe in it or not, prayer is the best way to communicate with God, our loving Heavenly Father.
Something interesting often happens, however. We often go to God with a list of things that we want or need. And usually, it's a legitimate request. We don't have the habit of asking frivolously for things like sports cars, mansions, or CEO positions. We understand that we're not going to get those by just asking for them. But I still find that I ask for things that, although important, aren't crucial to my salvation. For example, getting a good grade on a really important test. Or maybe the job I need.
If you think about it, there are millions and maybe even billions of people in the world--sons and daughters of God--that don't even have an education, much less a grade on a test. There are so many who don't even have any income. They might not even have anything to eat today. So does Heavenly Father love them less, just because they don't get an A+ or a nice job offer? Of course not. So what does that tell me? What should I really be praying for?
I'm not saying that it's wrong to pray for our needs. In fact, God often gives us those "trivial things" that are really important to our current situation, despite the fact that we don't earn or deserve them. Nevertheless, I think it's more important to pray for things like more faith, more desire, and more humility. I know that I have many, many flaws, so that's a pretty good place to start. I can pray for more desire to work hard, no matter my circumstances. I can pray for the trust and faith to keep my promises and covenants with the Lord, no matter my situation. Pray for family unity. Pray for love and peace to be a part of my life. I think that's something I can work on these next few months.
I often find myself in the same situation. Sometimes it is hard to know what to pray for. I have learned that following the spirit helps me a lot while I pray. The spirit will whisper certain things that I had never even thought to pray for, often giving me new direction in life.
ReplyDeleteI think that the scriptures help us know what to pray for, like in Alma 37 for example, and the Holy Ghost can also help us know what to pray for. I agree that it is important to pray for our current needs and success, even though those things may seem insignificant to the problems of other people, but they are still problems, nevertheless. I also agree that we need to do more than just that, but we need to pray to have more faith and humility, like you said, and also pray to know how to help others resolve their problems. I think we have a lot less problems than people in other countries, and that's so we are able to set apart more time to serve others in less-fortunate circumstances. I hate when I get caught up in my little problems and can't see past those, so thanks for sharing, that helps me keep things in the right perspective in my life.
ReplyDeleteVery true. I know one thing I have thought about here at BYU is that most people in my classes are praying that they will do well on tests. As tests are curved, this becomes kind of tricky... not everyone can get an 'A' or even a 'B'. We really do need to focus our efforts in prayer on being able to learn things and to progress and become better than praying to perform well on a test we cram for. In doing so, I believe our prayers are much more likely to be answered.
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