Tuesday, May 28, 2013

2 Nephi 32:8-9

"And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

"But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

These verses really hit home today.

Over the past several days, but today especially, I have had moments where I feel like I just need to pray. Sometimes it's because I feel some kind of panic. Sometimes it's because I am overcome with sudden joy and gratitude. Sometimes it's for another's welfare. I have been much better at recognizing those promptings, but sometimes I don't follow through with them. I need to follow through with them. I need to "pray always."

Today has been very go-go-go. I have felt rushed all day long. I have had my bouts of peace, though, and overall, it has been a very good day. While I was in the bathroom at my chiropractor's office, I felt this sudden urge to pray. Here? In the bathroom? No. I don't know why I felt so self-conscious. It's a one-person bathroom, and they keep it really clean. It's not like it's a gas station. I think I felt self-conscious because maybe someone was out there waiting to use the bathroom and I thought they would find it weird if I was in there for forever, and before I came out, they heard no flush. No big deal really. After battling with myself, I ended up kneeling down right there to pray.

It was kind of a quick prayer. I just told God some of my feelings but mostly expressed gratitude for what is happening in my life right now.

At the time I felt prompted to kneel down and pray, I also had a lot of reasons running through my mind why I shouldn't pray. Like normal. Whenever I feel prompted to pray, there are always reasons why I shouldn't. Those are temptations of Satan. Heavenly Father wants me to pray. In fact, He wants me to "pray always, and not faint." He wants me to pray for everything, and He will consecrate my performance. It's such a comfort to know that if I pray always, He will help me achieve the things that I need to. I can pray for humility. I can pray to be able to handle the stress in my life. I can pray for my friends. I can pray for strangers I come across. I can pray for my husband. I can pray to be a better wife. I can pray to be more grateful. I can pray to be a better listener. I can pray to be more understanding.

There is so much to pray for.

Prayer is such a simple tool to help bring us closer to Heavenly Father. It is simple, and it is beautiful. I am so grateful for prayer, for the ability I have to talk to my Father in Heaven, and for the blessings that come from developing that relationship with Him.

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