20 Cry unto him when ye are in your afields, yea, over all your flocks. 21 aCry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. 22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your aenemies. 23 Yea, acry unto him against the bdevil, who is an enemy to all crighteousness. 24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. 25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. 26 But this is not all; ye must apour out your souls in your bclosets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. 27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your ahearts be bfull, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your cwelfare, and also for the welfare of dthose who are around you.
This scripture is telling us to pray over our employment, to pray over our families, to pray to overcome our weaknesses. We can pray for the strength to develop Christ like characteristics, to have the energy to perform our day to day tasks. We can thank Him for the many things we have been given. We can apologize for doing things we know are wrong and ask Him to forgive us.
This tool of communication is so simple, yet so powerful. It is available at all times and in all places. We can talk to God before starting our day and before going to bed. We can offer up a prayer while we commute to and from work. We can take a few moments to offer up silent prayers in our hearts. The main point I am trying to get at is God will listen regardless of our gender, ethnicity, wealth, political affiliation and so on. What is even more remarkable about prayer is that it is two way communication. We can receive guidance, counsel, comfort, relief, etc.
God will answer our prayers through a variety of ways. He may give us feelings of peace and comfort to let us know a specific decision is the right. He may provide feelings of love, joy, and peace simply to let us know He loves us and is mindful of our situation. Other times we may receive counsel from family members or close friends that will resonate and ring true within us. Scriptural passages may stand out to us and apply to specific questions we may have brought before our Heavenly Father. Sometimes our prayers are not answered immediately because the Lord is waiting for a time and a place that will give that answer greater meaning to us or the Lord is waiting for us to soften our hearts enough to be receptive to that answer. I cannot go over the endless ways we can receive guidance from our Father in Heaven and our Savior, but I do know they are mindful of us, want to bless us, and will give us every good thing that we need.
I recently listened to an audio talk on CD called The Fourth Watch by a man named S.Michael Wilcox, discussing many of the things I have typed in this post. At one point he talks about the difference between the expected good versus the given good. There are things in our lives we will pray about expecting an answer or an outcome that goes along with what we believe is best for us, when in reality God in His infinite wisdom will give us what is the best for us. In Matthew 7:7-11 it states:
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
I would highly recommend listening to or reading the entire devotional. It addresses so many amazing concepts when it comes to receiving answers to prayers, and waiting on the Lord's timeline.
I would like to add my personal testimony that I can personally talk with God anytime and over any matter, whether big or small. I had the opportunity to be reminded of this concept just the other day. There had been a concern on my mind for the past several days in regards to potentially hurting another individual's feelings due to conflicting schedules with myself and my family. This situation was causing me a decent amount of anxiety and I did not know how to handle the situation. I decided to go my Heavenly Father in prayer. I asked Him if it would be possible in one way or another to change certain outcomes or events as to prevent some of the worries that had been on my mind over the last few days. While at work I had learned that certain events had changed as to prevent potential hurt feelings with the individual mentioned above. I knew at that moment that God had indeed heard my prayers and had answered them. In reality this was not a huge deal, but Heavenly Father knew it was important to me and had intervened in my behalf. It was a tender mercy showing me that I can go to Him for help in matters that are trivial or important.
I know that God is real, that He lives and that He loves each one of us. We can talk to Him as we would a close friend. I know He listens. I know He will respond, will guide, and will intervene in ways that will accomplish His purposes to bring us His children joy. I know as we go to Him in prayer our relationship with Him will grow and we will desire to follow Him and His son Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the Savior's perfect example of prayer and complete faith in His Father's plan even though He Himself had to go through more than I could ever imagine. He understood God's will for Him and accomplished everything that God asked Him to do. I hope that each one of us will take the opportunity to pray with Heavenly Father often, and ask for the strength and courage to follow the Savior in these trying times. I love Him and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
