Hello again! Before I get started, two quick things. First of all, I would like to thank all of you for checking out and following my blog. Good stuff, huh? And secondly, I would like to encourage ya'll to invite your friends and family to check this out and we will go places. Doesn't that sound like fun? I most certainly agree!
Alright, so after much contemplation, I have decided on prayer as our next topic of study. You might've noticed, but the title says part 1. Whoa! That probably means there is a part two. If you thought that, you were correct! So, today we will discuss prayer and what it is, and then tomorrow, I will be sharing some experience from the scriptures and personally, of prayers being answered.
So, I really wanted to focus on three questions: What is prayer, why do we pray, and what is in it for me?
What Is Prayer?
Well, probably the best place I found that defines prayer is in the Bible Dictionary. It defines prayer as, "the act by which the will of the Father and will of the child (us) are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them." Wow, that is so perfect! Well, what more can I say? Prayer is the act by which we communicate with our Father in Heaven and align our will with His. Savyy? Good.
Next, Why Do We Pray?
Definitely, once again, the scripture say it so much better than I do, so next we will go to
3 Nephi 18:15, where Jesus Christ himself is speaking. He says, "Verily, verily I say unto you, ye must watch and pary always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him. And also, Alma, one of the prophets of the Book of Mormon, says in Alma 5:46, "Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and PRAYED many days that I might KNOW these things of myself.
So, here are two really good reasons for us to pray. First, that we may come off conqueror and be able to overcome temptation. And second, that we may know for ourselves the truthfulness of the Gospel.
There are many other reasons for praying though, too. We can pray to give thanks unto God for the many things that He has given us. We can also pray for those things we stand in need of And. we can always pray to receive answers to questions we might have.
And finally, What's In It For Me?
Well, once again, there is a really sweet scripture that gives a really cool promise. It is in 3 Nephi 18:20 and again, it is Christ speaking. It says, "And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you."
WOW, what an awesome promise! Did you catch that? He promises us that whatever we ask God for, as long as it is His will, He will bless us with it and that all we have to do is ask.
I, too, add my promise to that. That whatsoever we ask God for, that when we pray, we can be blessed with it, according to God's will. I have seen my prayers answered time and time again. Sometimes it's not in the way we think or in the time that we expect, but I promise that He will ALWAYS answer our prayers. Just as Christ, I promise that if we pray without ceasing, our footsteps will be guided.
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