Prayer

Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, ^ateach us to ^bpray, as John also taught his disciples.

Prayer has been on my mind a lot lately. It is such a simple blessing and yet, sometimes, it can be really complex. Lately I find myself unknowingly analyzing my prayers and learning so much about what it really means to pray.
On a simple note, I remember when I was a newlywed and Jeff and I had our first tiff. I remember praying that Jeff would know how much I loved him. Instantly I felt the prompting, "you need to tell him you love him." I went out of my room, told him I loved him, and the tiff was over. It was simple but I've never forgotten it. It was a real answer to my prayer at that time.

Recently I've learned that prayer is the service of all services. I can pray for you, or you or you or you, and you'll never even know that I'm praying for you. I am. This is such a blessing. It makes me feel good to exercise my faith for the good of someone else and it makes you feel good when you feel the prayers that have been said in your behalf. You'll never know I prayed for you and that's the most perfect part of it all.

Prayer helps me to think less of myself and more of others. Lately there have been many who I want to help. I want to heal. I want to make whole and happy. I want to find jobs for some and find good husbands for others. I want to bring peace and comfort. I want to teach, without forcing, the importance of living a virtuous life. I want to make it better. I want to comfort. I want to give answers. I want to boost confidences. None of this can I do on my own. It's not my place. It's not in my power. But I can pray, and I do. When I pray for others my love for them increases and my life and my struggles become less critical. Isn't that an answer to my prayer in itself. I pray for comfort, then I loose myself in prayer for another and find comfort in knowing that I am serving someone else. It's an answer to my prayer for comfort. It's a continuous round, for a reason, and I think I am learning more about what prayer really means.

I pray for my husband and it helps me know how to be a better wife. I pray for my children and it strengthens me to be a better mom. I pray for the kids that my children will go to school with and it makes me want to be a better friend to women who may be struggling in my community who are mothers and who need strength to raise the next generation. On and on and on.

What really hit it home was last week during prayer at dinner when Jeff nudged me and I opened my eyes to peak at Emmett. He was sitting in his highchair, pushed up to the table, arms folded on his tray in a one year old manner. He is learning to pray. What was special about this is that no-one ever "taught" him to fold his arms. We've never said, "ok M, fold your arms..." He's always just sat there and watched. He had seen us do it, for his whole life, and now he was doing it. On his own. What a wonderful lesson to me of the example we set for our children. If there is anything I would want my children to know it is the power of prayer. It is that no matter what they are facing, no matter what they have done, no matter where they are, they are never alone. They will always have a loving Heavenly Father who will hear and answer their prayers.