"More Purpose in Prayer"
One of my favorite hymns is "More Holiness Give Me". It's always been a favorite, and every time I hear it I am reminded of the need to commit to do better. Recently, two lines/sections in particular have stood out to me.
The first is "more joy in his service, more purpose in prayer". Sometimes I find that my prayers become rote, I pray for the same thing day after day, the prayers are sincere but there could be an improvement. The last few weeks I have made a drastic change in my nightly scripture reading. I have shifted my focus to the words of the living prophets and have been reading several General Conference addresses each evening, as I have read these words I have been inspired to do better, change my prayers, to listen, and to really seek advice. I was explaining prayer to Michael recently the other day and I used the tried and true analogy of talking to someone on the phone. His response was, "Like when you talk to Emmy?". This made me pause, I talk to Emmy often and I always enjoy talking to her. Talking to her isn't a box I check before I can fall asleep at night, it is something that makes my day better, and I started to think of my prayers this way too. What a difference this has made! I have also been reminded that one of the things that I can pray for is the opportunity to serve those around me, what a sweet reminder to turn to the Savior and look outside of our daily lives!
The second is "more gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord". I am a control freak. I like to know how things are going to go, I like to be in charge, and I like to plan. Life isn't always that way. I constantly need a reminder that the Lord is mindful of me and has a plan for me, that he is aware of not only my circumstances, but also what will come next and what I need to grow. I am trying to appreciate the situations I am in and trust that these are for my good. I am reminded of a section of President Henry B. Erying's April 2014 General Conference address, A Priceless Heritage of Hope, in there he says, "I have seen that as a counselor to two living prophets of God. They are individuals with unique personalities. Yet they seem to share a consistent optimism. When someone raises an alarm about something in the Church, their most frequent response is “Oh, things will work out.” They generally know more about the problem than the people sounding the alarm.
The first is "more joy in his service, more purpose in prayer". Sometimes I find that my prayers become rote, I pray for the same thing day after day, the prayers are sincere but there could be an improvement. The last few weeks I have made a drastic change in my nightly scripture reading. I have shifted my focus to the words of the living prophets and have been reading several General Conference addresses each evening, as I have read these words I have been inspired to do better, change my prayers, to listen, and to really seek advice. I was explaining prayer to Michael recently the other day and I used the tried and true analogy of talking to someone on the phone. His response was, "Like when you talk to Emmy?". This made me pause, I talk to Emmy often and I always enjoy talking to her. Talking to her isn't a box I check before I can fall asleep at night, it is something that makes my day better, and I started to think of my prayers this way too. What a difference this has made! I have also been reminded that one of the things that I can pray for is the opportunity to serve those around me, what a sweet reminder to turn to the Savior and look outside of our daily lives!
The second is "more gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord". I am a control freak. I like to know how things are going to go, I like to be in charge, and I like to plan. Life isn't always that way. I constantly need a reminder that the Lord is mindful of me and has a plan for me, that he is aware of not only my circumstances, but also what will come next and what I need to grow. I am trying to appreciate the situations I am in and trust that these are for my good. I am reminded of a section of President Henry B. Erying's April 2014 General Conference address, A Priceless Heritage of Hope, in there he says, "I have seen that as a counselor to two living prophets of God. They are individuals with unique personalities. Yet they seem to share a consistent optimism. When someone raises an alarm about something in the Church, their most frequent response is “Oh, things will work out.” They generally know more about the problem than the people sounding the alarm.
They also know the way of the Lord, and so they are always hopeful about His kingdom. They know He is at its head. He is all-powerful and He cares. If you let Him be the leader of your family, things will work out."
So here's to further improvement, strengthened faith, and increased resolve to do better and serve more.
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