We went to the beach this weekend but I'll post on that when I get the pics ready. Today in Relief Society we were discussing asking in faith. I have been pondering lately that when I ask Heavenly Father for help am I not showing faith if I continually pray for it? I think sometimes we all struggle with knowing if something is right and sometimes it is hard to differentiate between what we need and what we want. I have lived my whole life pleading for some of the same things; healthy family, certain family members and friends to feel of the spirit and return to church. I don't ask for these things as filler in my prayers but I have always taken other peoples fates and sometimes decisions on my shoulders. I can remember being 7yrs old and begging Heavenly Father to help my Brother please find his way back to church. I couldn't bear the thought of our eternal family not including him. Through the years my prayers have included more than a few of my siblings and I also gained enough insight to know that instead of finding their way back to church it is more help them to know of thy love. Recently though in RS a comment struck me , when asking for someone inactive to find the truth again, or how ever you word it, are we implying that Heavenly Father is not already trying to help them, is there anyone who wants that more than he does? I know that Alma prayed for Alma the younger so it doesn't mean we shouldn't still pray for them but that we need to remember with whom we are speaking with. The story from Elder Bednar fom Aprils conference is so great and truly moves me each time I hear it that I decided to post it and because it shows sometimes we have to remember we won't always receive the answers we want but his views of our lives are complete while we are near sighted.
Not My Will, but Thine, Be Done
Several years ago there was a young father who had been active in the Church as a boy but had chosen a different path during his teenage years. After serving in the military, he married a lovely girl, and soon children blessed their home.
One day without warning their little four-year-old daughter became critically ill and was hospitalized. In desperation and for the first time in many years, the father was found on his knees in prayer, asking that the life of his daughter be spared. Yet her condition worsened. Gradually, this father sensed that his little girl would not live, and slowly his prayers changed; he no longer prayed for healing but rather for understanding. “Let Thy will be done” was now the manner of his pleadings.
Soon his daughter was in a coma, and the father knew her hours on earth were few. Fortified with understanding, trust, and power beyond their own, the young parents prayed again, asking for the opportunity to hold her close once more while she was awake. The daughter’s eyes opened, and her frail arms reached out to her parents for one final embrace. And then she was gone. This father knew their prayers had been answered—a kind, compassionate Father in Heaven had comforted their hearts. God’s will had been done, and they had gained understanding. (Adapted from H. Burke Peterson, “Adversity and Prayer,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, 18.)
Discerning and accepting the will of God in our lives are fundamental elements of asking in faith in meaningful prayer. However, simply saying the words “Thy will be done” is not enough. Each of us needs God’s help in surrendering our will to Him.
3 comments:
Ya, these kinds of situations are very interesting to me. In the end it seems like God is basically going to do what he wills, it's on you to either accept that or believe you can change his decision (due to certain passages in the scriptures). Even in the cases where God says to whomever that his mind was changed or something that was going to happen was prevented seems strange. I think it rhetorical, a lot like when a parent asks a child what do they want to do, "Give your brother back the toy?" or as it was in your post "Do you want my will done?". But it does seem frustrating at times to think we have sway in his decisions when we believe we know best. The interesting times in life is when he does grant what we want and are confused as to why are lives are the way they are based on that decision.
The logistics here are mind-bottling.
I really enjoyed reading your post. As we both have similar situations in our lives. I especially have been aganizing over what our future holds as you know, and sometimes we just have to know after all we can do..it is out of our hands and in His.
It's always amazing how we can forget that even when we feel lost he still sees us and if we allow it he will guide us.
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