24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Youth all over the world are standing and proclaiming "We Believe!" When Sis. Linnell first shared with us the theme for Girls Camp this year, I was struck by the simple power in the statement. "Because I believe, I will not cease to call upon God." There is so much power in prayer. It has the power to change our lives. To bring peace, to provide answers, to soften our hearts, to bless, to forgive. Through the power of prayer we have access to the power of our Heavenly Father. So when He tells us that whatsoever we desire,... we shall have it, do we believe Him?
As we really learn to pray (a lifelong process, at least for me) we learn to believe that He is listening, to believe that He loves us. As we continue to pray, we learn to believe that He will answer us. When we believe this, we learn to turn to our Heavenly Father more often.
It will change your life when you learn to not only believe in Him, but to actually believe that He will do everything that He has promised. And yes, He will do it for you. I know this because I have put it to the test. I am continually amazed at the power when I kneel in earnest prayer, really looking for an answer. I believe in Him - that He is my Heavenly Father, and I believe Him - that He will do all that He has promised. I also know that He believes in you.
Desire. Ask. Believe.
Love, Sis. Norris
2 comments:
I have a question.... I have been struggling lately with a certain situation. I have a certain desire (and it is a righteous one) that I have been pleading with the Lord to bless me with this certain desire for the last year and a half. I was blessed with it initially and then it was taken from as quickly as I was blessed with it. Since then I have been praying for this blessing constantly in my daily prayers yet I have not recieved this blessing, and I just don't know why. Is it because I am not righteous enough, or don't have enough faith? It is just so hard and I figured since it was such a righteous desire that i would be blessed with this much sooner. If it is just a matter of waiting, how do I be patient while waiting for this blessing? How do I remember to not be angry with the Lord for not blessing me... and how do I not feel like it is my fault with every month that passes?
The concepts of faith and prayer always seem so simple. In truth, the basic steps are simple, but the strength and perseverance needed to endure through whatever comes our way can be very difficult. I remember a time in my life when I was struggling with something in my family life that I never in any of my wildest dreams thought that I would be going through. The doubts about my own worthiness and spirituality were rampant. I was blinded with all of the things that maybe I could have done differently. The “What If’s” consumed me. Surely I was being faced with the consequences of choices and actions that I had made. As I look back, I think that I can say with all honestly that I literally cried gallons of tears. I cried when I didn’t think I could cry anymore. I don’t remember the exact turning point for me. I do know that it was a long process. The nature of the situation was something that was completely out of my control. I was often at the mercy of other people as decisions were made and as our life continued. Maybe it was because of this sense of not being in control that I turned to my Heavenly Father. There was literally nothing else that I could do. At first my prayers were filled with a lot of “why” questions. Wanting to know why we had to go through this. These prayers were long, heartfelt, and tearful. Eventually I just needed peace. When my prayers changed and I began to ask for help coping, for some measure of peace, my mind and spirit were flooded with the reassurance that he loved me. It was during this experience that I began to understand the atonement in a way that I had never understood it before. The atonement is not just about being forgiven of our sins. The atonement is there to heal our hearts. Our Savior took not only our sins upon us, but our sorrows and our grief. It is not an easy process, and it is not an immediate process, but learning to turn over our grief to him can bring us peace. Each of us has our own trials. Each of us will endure things that don’t make sense to us. I have never had a trial that I have not later recognized as a time when my Heavenly Father was teaching me. This particular trial taught me a lot. You could say that it changed me, Maybe, as you are waiting for an answer to your prayer, there are things that Heavenly Father wants you to do. I don’t know. But I do know that He knows your heart, He knows your pain, and He loves you. Ask for peace. It may not be immediate, and the fears and doubts will probably return, but I do know that He is aching to hold you in His arms and bring you comfort.
With all my love, Sis. Norris
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