Prayer is so personal, comforting, healing and intimate, yet can feel a bit one sided if we just go through the motions of it rather than really pouring our hearts out to our Heavenly Father. He knows what we're struggling with and already knows what we need, but it is important for us to articulate our thoughts and to have faith that He will answer our prayers.
Here are some of my notes from today...
1. Be conscious of who you are praying to.
2. Pray even if you don't feel like praying.
3. It's a sign of humility to kneel when you pray, but don't pass up on the opportunities to pray elsewhere when needed. (I do this ALL the time!)
4. Pray for the Lord's will to be done, but don't be discouraged if the Lord's will in your life is different than in others' lives. The Lord knows who we are becoming and is guiding our way. (I'm finally grasping this!)
--Understand that He is your best friend.
-- Ask for help to understand the scriptures.
--Express your love to the Lord, don't rush your thoughts.
-- Ask for help to understand the scriptures.
--Express your love to the Lord, don't rush your thoughts.
**Do you feel like your prayers are heard?
Where is the strangest place you've ever prayed?
Do you have a hard time accepting the Lord's will?**
Happy Birthday Barb!!!
In other Sunday news, our primary just started a weekly Articles of Faith Challenge. We're focusing on #13 through November and each week have a challenge between a primary child (they can have their class help them if necessary) and a teacher or leader, so we've been practicing at home. Landon and I have it memorized and I recorded him saying it today after church just for fun.
14 comments:
Welcome home!
"Prayer is so personal, comforting, healing and intimate" - totally agree and love that line.
I loved that line as well (that Amie pulled out).
Pray even if you don't feel like praying. That's one for me. I struggle with that from time to time, even though I know it's foolish.
I've prayed in every conceivable place, from the shower to my car -- basically wherever I am. One of my favorite places to pray used to be walking from the dorms down to main campus at BYU each morning...
I sometimes have a hard time accepting the Lord's will, for sure.
You crack me up. Not even a slight mention of your trip? You just slide back in with one of your lovely Sunday thoughts. Really?
I agree that prayer is extremely personal. I also think it is extremely complicated. I struggle with it constantly. I try to make it so I'm not going through the motions, but since I use it as a sounding board, it is hard when the response can come quite possibly days later if ever.
We had some great talks about prayer and scripture reading today too. The emphasis was how we need to do it every day to keep the conversation going between us and the Lord. One quote that was shared... "If we obey just a little we will be blessed just a little" or something to that effect. I found it poignant.
Great Sunday topic! Last night we had our Adult session of Stake Conference, and among other things the theme I noticed was definitely about prayer...the power to change our hearts for the better. But one thing I noticed from many of the people speaking was that sometimes they prayed for many months, even years before they got an answer sometimes even no! It was a great reminder for me!
I thought that the first line was, "We Believe in being honest, true, chased by an elephant...." when I was in Jr. Primary.
I've watched #4 at work in my life this month in a big way--and learned to be okay with it.
"Prayer is so personal, comforting, healing and intimate".....like our own 1-on-1 SEP session with the Lord! heehee
I really like what you are doing with the articles of faith. That should be fun.
I love all of your notes from the talk. So what I needed to hear.
I love prayer. It has been one of the constant stregnths in my life and is one of the things I want my children to understand from an early age. Not just the motions of saying prayers, but to really pray and to have that relationship with their Father in Heaven.
Beautiful thoughts, Jill. I definitely do feel like prayers are heard..I've had some huge breakthrough's in prayer over the past six months as my sister's baby is having heart trouble & will have open heart surgery next month. It's humbling to kneel and pray and feel a perspective so entirely more beautiful than that of everyday life. I'm truly grateful for prayers...for knowing that God is indeed small enough to know and care about the tiny as well as the huge.
I rely daily on prayer and I know my prayers are heard.
Why is it hard to bend my will to His when I know which is right?
Missed YOu! welcome back!!
I can't wait to hear/read about your trip.
Prayer is so important. In these tough times & always it's so comforting to know that He hears our prayers & will guide us with what we need to do.
thanks jill :)
Welcome back! What about your trip???
Amazing post....thanks for sharing your notes!
Landon is so cute and smart!
Your #4 is something I have to remind myself daily!
My religion teaches us to practice 7 types of prayer: Adoration,Praise, Thanksgiving, Penitence, Oblation (offering one's self to God),Intercession (asking something on someone else's behalf), and Petition (asking something on one's own behalf).
Sometimes I feel like I literally have tio go back and study the 7 types on paper or recite them to myself when I feel like my prayers have no direction or I get stuck on petition and need to be reminded of the other 6!
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