Meaningful prayers...

I loved this poster of Enos.  It makes me think of the article written by Elder D. Todd Christofferson  in the October edition of the New Era.  His message was how to make daily prayer more meaningful. His message went straight to my heart.  In Alma 37:36-37 it states: "Cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord;yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever."

I read this scripture captured in the article and pondered about my own personal prayers.  Do I follow this counsel?  Sadly, my prayers are lacking this direction.  Then I went on to read the next verse, " Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day. 

I know my prayers have become more like wish lists rather than an actual accounting to the Lord.  Elder Bednar gave a talk on prayer and suggested that in our morning prayers we should talk to the Lord and give a preview of our day.  This is a great time to folllow the words of Alma and ask the Lord to be with us and allow our actions and words to be those our Father in Heaven would wish us to do and say.  Elder Bednar then went on to suggest that our evening personal prayers should be a report to the Lord on what happened throughout our day.  We may need to thank Him for the blessings that occurred, we may need to repents of a few things and to discuss the concerns and issues that cause our hearts to burn. 

In Moroni 10:4 we are encouraged to pray with a sincere heart and with real intent.  Elder Christofferson stated that means we want to know the Lord's will and we will do it, that we are committed to His will.

It brings a whole new perspective to my private conversations with the Lord.  I feel that when I present my 'wish list' to the Lord I am trying to give the Lord counsel instead of recieving His counsel for me. 

I am so grateful that our leaders write with inspiration.  I truly needed this article at this particular time in my life.  I feel, in so many ways, that I am just now beginning to understand the concept of faith and all that it entails.  Faith has been an important part of my life since mother's illness.  I had no choice but to lean on the Lord and allow His will to be done.  It was a very difficult thing to do.  I  thought I knew what faith was and had plenty of it in  reserve to be used during trials that would come during various points in my life.  What I found was that I hadn't barely scratched the surface.  

My prayers and my relationship with the Lord go hand in hand.  I need to learn the true order of prayer.  I need to place faith in my Father in Heaven and allow Him to teach me what it is that He would have me do.

This is my time to prove to Him of my love and committment to Him and his gospel.

I love Him with all of my heart and soul.