“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh
receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened.”-- Matthew 7:7-8 (KJV)
******************************
My purpose is to provide
uplifting reading material. I only gather and share information. Some of the
material comes from my own life experience; some doesn’t. I don’t claim to be
an expert, or to have all the answers.
Thanks for your
support!
******************************
Image courtesy of
publicdomainpictures.net
Doesn’t life
often seem like this winding staircase? We can only see a few steps in front of
us. It’s maddening! It’s contrary to our “immediate information” culture. There’s
no GPS telling us every move to make. No architectural blueprint tells us what’s
below or beyond us. There’s no tour guide. How do we proceed?
Hope and
guidance comes through prayer—that divine connection. John, chapter 15, gives
us the allegory of the vine and the branches. The vine is the symbol of Jesus.
We (the branches) need to be connected to him/it to survive. Simple science.
In another metaphor, Jesus is
described as a light: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light
of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life.”-- John 8:12 (KJV)
Prayer doesn’t always offer immediate
help. We don’t always get clear answers.
We can certainly obtain light and guidance through prayer. Let’s look at
some situations:
1. Helps lighten our spirits, despite
tough circumstances
(especially if we show gratitude [give thanks] before we ask for what we want.)
2. Gets us what we want
Parents on
Earth don’t always know what their kids need until/unless they ask. For
instance, if a teen needs help with homework, she’ll probably have to request
assistance.
“One of the objects of prayer is to
secure blessings that God is willing to grant but that are made conditional on
our asking.”—Elder
Dale G. Renlund
“Be careful
what you ask for,” is a common phrase, “You may get it.” King Midas, of Greek
mythology, certainly “got it”. He asked for the ability to turn everything he
touched into gold. Well, one can’t eat or hug gold.
Elijah and
Elisha of the Bible provide two other cases. Elijah was turning the duties of
the prophet over to Elisha. This is how it went:
“And it came to pass, when they were
gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I
be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of
thy spirit be upon me.”-- 2 Kings 2:9 (KJV)
Further
scriptures show that Elisha performed twice as many miracles as Elijah, and so forth.
Elisha believed, asked, and received.
3. Guides us (literally and figuratively)
4. Offers protection (even in dangerous
situations)
My Conclusion
Prayer can
access Heaven’s power. There are plenty of moving songs about it. Please enjoy
this cover of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the hymn, “Prayer is the Soul’s
Sincere Desire”:
Are you harnessing the power of
prayer?
No comments:
Post a Comment