Prayer..

I have wanted to start posting every week something Spiritual for the longest time. But with us moving I have not had Internet so I have not been able to do this. But this is my goal now that we have the Internet. Evey week I am going to try and do this.

In the November 2011 Ensign Elder J. Devn Cornish Of the Seventy talked about "THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER." He begins his talk by saying:

God our Father is not a feeling or an idea or a force. He is a holy person who, as the scriptures teach, has a face and hands and a glorious immortal body. He is real, He knows each of us individually, and He loves us, every one. He wants to bless us.

In the Bible Dictionary it reads: “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 willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them”.

He goes on to say, " When we truly believe that God rules His kingdom and that He has all power and all glory, we are recognizing that He really is in charge, that He loves us with a perfect love, and that He wants us to be happy. I have found that one of the secrets to a joyful life is to recognize that doing things the Lord’s way will make me happier than doing things my way.

There is a risk that a person may not feel good enough to pray. This idea comes from that evil spirit who is the one who teaches us not to pray (see 2 Nephi 32:8). It is as tragic to think we are too sinful to pray. We must not imagine that any kind of prayer, no matter how sincere, will be very effective if all we do is to say the prayer. We must not only say our prayers; we must also live them. The Lord is much more pleased with the person who prays and then goes to work than with the person who only prays. Much like medicine, prayer works only when we use it as directed.When I say that prayer is a sweet privilege, it is not just because I am grateful to be able to talk to Heavenly Father and to feel His Spirit when I pray. It is also because He actually answers and speaks to us.

Sometimes we seem to get no answer to our sincere and striving prayers. It takes faith to remember that the Lord answers in His time and in His way so as to best bless us. Or, on further reflection, we will often realize that we already know full well what we should do.

He concludes by saying: "I cherish the counsel of our beloved prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, who said: “To those within the sound of my voice who are struggling with challenges and difficulties large and small, prayer is the provider of spiritual strength; it is the passport to peace. Prayer is the means by which we approach our Father in Heaven, who loves us. Speak to Him in prayer and then listen for the answer. Miracles are wrought through prayer".

I know there have been more times than not in my life that I have taken prayer for granite. There have been numerous nights when all I want to do is crawl in my bed and go to sleep and I don't want to take the time to get down on my knees and talk to my Father in Heaven. But these are the times that I need to talk to him more than ever. I need to make the time in my life to communicate with my Heavenly Father. Prayer is such a powerful tool that we have been blessed with. I am so grateful that I have the privilege of being able to talk to our Father in Heaven whenever I want to and I am thankful for the countless times that he has been there and heard the pleadings of my heart and answered my prayers and comforted me when I have needed him. I wish that I could say that I am strong in saying my prayers every morning and night but I cant but I know I need to become better and make it a priority to talk to my Father in Heaven every morning and night.