To start our year out right, we have chosen PRAYER to be our focus for this month.
In his address, President Nelson said,"...Let us unite in thanking God through daily prayer. Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray by first expressing gratitude to God, and then petitioning Him for the things we need. Prayer brings forth miracles. In that spirit, I would now like to offer a prayer for the world and everyone in it. As I pray, I hope that you will feel inspired to do the same, pouring out your heart in gratitude for the countless blessings God has given you, and petitioning Him to heal our hearts, our families, our societies, and the world at large."
We were so blessed to hear Sisters Nanci Day, Jenn Tripp, and Lori Davis share their feelings and testimonies about Prayer in their lives tonight.
As we begin our year long gratitude project, let us share and uplift each other with a deepening understand of what prayer is in each of our lives.
Please share your insights, thoughts or testimony on this topic.
So many times I have been guilty of leaving Heavenly Father a 'voice mail' instead of having a real conversation. President Nelson's prayer for the world inspired me and overwhelmed me with such a feeling of thankfulness for our Prophet. I hope that as I become more mindful this year with my prayers that I can be more like Christ and want to always do the Father's will.
ReplyDeleteTo me, prayer is like having our own private line to our Heavenly Father that's available 24/7. I've found talking to him is the best therapy when I'm feeling anxious about something. Even if I don't get an answer right away, I know that he's heard my prayers and that ultimately everything will be okay.
ReplyDeleteI needed this reminder of prayer. Sometimes it’s hard to give thanks during the dark, hard, challenging times. But I’m learning those are actually the best times to give thanks. I need to remember to be thankful for the people and things in my life that aren’t dark, hard and challenging. That is actually what keeps me going sometimes. That is what I’m learning to preface my prayers with. I have been given so much and continue to be given so much.
ReplyDeleteSome may know of the mental and physical health challenges I face on a daily basis, and have for several years now. Prayer has become so important to me, and definitely more meaningful and purposeful since all my health issues began. I have had to draw closer to my Heavenly Father, pour my heart out to him, and trust that he will help me get through each day. He has never failed me. Some days are still super rough and hard, but I feel His hand in my life. I have been able to find the good in the bad, the joy in the despair, and I strive to share that with others and uplift them in whatever capacity I am able. My testimony has become so strong and I am so grateful for the relationship I have with my Heavenly Father. I know He loves me, and I know He hears and answers my prayers.
ReplyDeleteI too, am so thankful for the blessing of prayer. To have a Heavenly Parent who loves us all so much that he will listen to us any time, no matter what. I’m very thankful that around 45 years ago, I found the truth of the Gospel, it has changed my life for the better. I would have never been able to live and endure my life as it was.
ReplyDeleteI admit that last year, in the beginning of the Covid Pandemic I became extremely frightened and believed that life as I knew it was at its end. For me, after being locked inside, and not allowed to out or visit with others, or even go to church was too much. Then I lost my job, and even though I knew that my illness had been getting worse over the past few years, I had to come to grips with the fact that now I can no longer drive, even little things like typing, writing, drawing/painting, and crocheting have become extremely painful and difficult to complete, these are some of the things I love. It seemed to me that my life was pretty much over. BUT….
I went to Heavenly Father and prayed like I had never prayed before, my youngest son, Clay came over and gave me a Priesthood Blessing which was so sweet, and it gave me the strength I needed to move forward. I also began listening to several different conference talks. One of them especially spoke to me, it helped ease the feelings of fear that I was experiencing and helped bring me closer to Jesus Christ. It’s by Elder David A. Bednar given in 2015 and titled, “Therefore, they Hushed their Fears”, this talk helped me so much, I would like to invite you all to listen to this talk.
All these trials and events have helped me realize now more than ever that I will be able to get through these events and I will be stronger. I will just need to learn to live my life differently than before. I have so many things in my life to be grateful for, the love of friends and family and even the difficulties that I have been dealt. I have learned things that I could have never learned without them. I’m extremely grateful for our Prophet, President Nelson, as he guides us towards what’s right and he loves and cares about us all. I’m grateful for so many things that I can not list them all.
When I think of prayer, the first thought that comes to my mind is my first powerful prayer experience. I was the oldest child in my family, and my mom left me home to babysit my younger brothers as she shopped at the grocery store. My brothers and I were playing "house" upstairs in a large walk-in closet. The light switch was outside the closet, and we were pretending it was nighttime. To my shock and horror, the doorknob came off in my hand as I closed the door, and we were locked in a pitch black closet with no one to help us out. We started screaming and banging on the door as the fear welled up inside us, but the door held fast and we could not escape the closet.
ReplyDeleteAll of a sudden, amid our sobs and desperation, I remembered that we could pray. We knelt down among the toys, holding hands for comfort as the tears dripped down our faces, and I explained to Heavenly Father that we were locked in the closet and terrified of the darkness that engulfed us. I pled for heavenly help from our frightening situation.
Immediately, a thought came to my mind: pick up the doorknob. I had no idea what would come next, but I obediently searched for the knob. When I had the knob in hand, I knew what to do next. I understood that I should fit it into the hole where it normally belonged. Again, as a very young child I had no idea what the next step would be. But I fitted the knob into the slot. Then I understood that I should turn the knob. And voila! We were freed from the darkness. We kissed each other and hugged and cheered as we wiped our tear-stained faces, and I learned three important lessons about prayer.
1. Heavenly Father hears us in real time and has the power and knowledge to save us from any darkness we face.
2. The Spirit can instruct us in what steps to follow. We will probably not understand all the steps immediately, but as we are obedient and learn line upon line, our minds will be illuminated to know the next step to take.
3. It is imperative that we share our testimonies of prayer with our children and teach them that God will hear and answer their prayers. If we instruct our children, they can be blessed with courage and help and comfort in the moments they need it.
I am so grateful that we have the privilege of praying to our loving Heavenly Father. I know that He loves us and always answers our prayers -- even in the darkest, scariest moments of our lives.
I have become anxious sometimes as I think of the many brothers and sisters throughout the world that have asked for prayers online, or that I have become aware of personally as their friend. But I have found that while I can't "fix everything," He can. So I have shared how overwhelming all the needs are to me, and turned them over to Him. I pray daily for people by name and feel His sweet presence as I am assured He is in attendance. One of my favorite Primary songs is titled "A Child's Prayer."
ReplyDeleteHeavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?
Some say that Heaven is far away
But I feel it close around me as I pray
Heavenly Father, I remember now
Something that Jesus told disciples long ago
"Suffer the children to come to me"
Father, in prayer I'm coming now to thee
Pray, he is there
Speak, he is listening
You are his child
His love now surrounds you
He hears your prayer
He loves the children
Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of Heaven
I know He hears and answers prayers. I have seen immediate answers, I have seen answers that took years to come, I have seen answers that were no, answers that were yes, answers that softened my stubborn heart, answers that have brought peace in times of extreme turmoil, comfort to a broken heart, soothing when I knew no peace. I am grateful for the challenge to "Hear Him!"
Prayer has been a comfort and a guide to me. I’ve definitely received answers and I know that heavenly fathers hears my prayers. I’ve had a few recent experiences. One of them, my prayer was immediately answered and I felt such comfort in it. I felt heard and loved. Another one of my prayers, I got an immediate answer to, but when I acted on it, it didn’t play out how I thought, at all. It honestly made me question why Heavenly Father would give me that answer and put me through what he did. Sometimes it isn’t until we are on the other side of it that we can realize that he still protected us and wanted us to grow in ways we wouldn’t have otherwise grown and gain knowledge and understanding of things. Sometimes, our answers to our prayers will make our life very hard and it can seem like you’ve been let down, but we can always find a lesson we’ve learned and find some good in it. It’s through our trials sometimes that we learn the most and change most. Heavenly Father knows what we need.
ReplyDelete