Prayer

This is one of my favorite videos.  I refer to it often, as I sometimes feel like my prayers are repetitive.  I feel as if I need to make my prayers more personal.  I sometimes try to hurry through it because I am tired, or am in a hurry.  But even my short prayers can be more personal if I just think more from my heart, rather than about just getting through it quickly.  Do you remember that it is our Father we are speaking to in our prayers?  He is listening, and when are pray sincerely, our prayers are answered.  Though sometimes the answers do not come when, or how we want them, they do come.  This I know for certain.  And I will tell you a little of why I know this.

When I was a lot younger, and in a much darker time in my life, I often forgot to pray.  I sometimes felt unworthy to pray.  Though I know that is when I needed to pray the hardest and most deeply.  One day as I was driving home from work, I started praying.  Of course since I was driving I could not kneel and close my eyes.  But I sincerely spoke to my Heavenly Father, I asked him to help me.  I prayed to him in such a way, that I left it all to him.  I was in a place that I needed so much strength to leave from and I knew that I could not just leave on my own.  I said to my Father, "If this choice that I have made is the wrong choice, then Father PLEASE make something big happen that makes me leave, because I cannot just leave on my own.  I need help."  As I closed my prayer and went home, nothing happened immediately, but a couple weeks later........something big did happen.  And with help from my Heavenly Father and my loving Mother, I left the dark place I was in.  Now maybe that seems to you like I got what I wanted.....but at the time it was not.  I did not want to leave, I wanted to be better and more worthy, but there was someone I did not want to leave.  But the darkness was not just the place, but it was the person.  Leaving was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  And it also left me more broken than I had ever been.  But as I followed the guidance of my Heavenly Father, his promises of joy and happiness followed.  It was hard....but oh has it ever been worth it.

When I look back and think about the choice I made to leave, I am so thankful for that moment I prayed in my car.  I am so thankful I was taught how to truly speak to my Father in Heaven.  He lead me out of the darkness and into the light.  I was not alone at any moment.  He was with me.

I know that life is not always easy, but if we pray with true intent and love, we can find joy, love, peace and happiness.  This I truly know.