Confide in God Unwaveringly...Sincere Prayer
I spoke in church today on confiding in God unwaveringly. I thought I'd share some of my thoughts here on my blog, because I think prayer is key in living a blessed life. God is real. He is our father. What I mean by that is that every single person on this planet are His children, literally we are His spirit children. He loves us and He wants to know us and our needs. And somehow, when we rely on Him, our vibrations raise and all things start aligning for our best interest.
You know, life has been full of challenges for me the last decade. We've been dealing with Lyme Disease, job loss, major financial issues, and now a pending divorce. I told my son when the trials of life come people either move closer to God or away from God. I have definitely moved closer. I have learned that when I lean on Him I find more peace.
I'm going to dive into the scriptures for a minute.
One of my favorite New Testament stories is of Peter walking on water. Read with me. Matt 14:23-32
23 He (Jesus) went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
--so Jesus left his deciples to be alone in the mountain...they were then without the Savior near when the ship left shore...
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
--the wind was contrary. I love that. Basically it was a bad storm.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
--so they are scared. But Jesus says to them as he does to us. Be of good cheer, it is I.
Be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
-- let’s acknowledge the power of Peter’s faith. He just gets out of the ship in the middle of the sea during a “contrary” storm and walks to the Savior. Just because he believed and followed the Savior’s bid “Come”.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
--then came the fear as he noticed the storm more than the Savior. Yet still, he knew the Lord would save him and had power to save him. And does the Lord hesitate? NEVER...not with Peter and not with you or me...What does he do?
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
--This rebuke “O thou of little faith wherefore didst thou doubt? I believe was said in comfort. Look at the power you have when you don’t doubt. Why did you doubt? Interesting, was it a chide? You of little faith or was it a compliment. Look, even with little faith you walked on water! Why did you then doubt?
Really it doesn’t matter. The point I gain from this is if we keep Christ our focal point and our eyes centered on him, then whatever storms: waves or wind come upon us we will be able to stand and walk. And if we fall all we have to do is say “Lord, save me”. And Immediately Christ will be there to catch us and comfort us.
My favorite scripture is found In James 1:2-6 2
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (or Greek translation afflictions)
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Ok so how do we not waver? I think the key is to confide in God. The dictionary says to confide is to impart secrets, trust fully; discuss private matters or problems. To have full trust; have faith. Some synonyms are: divulge information, admit, bend an ear, breathe (I love that one breathe which makes me think of Inspiration)
So let me ask a question. How often do you really confide in the Lord? How often do we pray vs. just say our prayers. About 15 years ago I read a book that had a big influence on me as a young mother. It is by Chieko Okazaki. She addressed the importance of prayer in her book “Lighten Up!” She says
“Heavenly Father doesn’t want to hear only “nice” prayers. He wants to hear real prayers, honest prayers. How many times are our evening prayers just one more chore...We all know
how to say prayers. We know the polite formula of “we thank athee for the gospel, we ask thee to bless the missionaries..” But who are we trying to kid? Jesus has just seen the stove where the spaghetti boiled over, and it was pretty obvious that wasn’t the only thing that had ever boiled over on that stove. He heard what you muttered when you picked up that one sock, just as you’ve been doing for the past eight years. He caught that worry about the dentist bill that flashed across your mind when you were putting toothpaste on your brush. He doesn’t want polite platitudes. He wants you! All of you! He wants to be the center of your total life - the worried you, the mad you, and the sad you as well as the inspired, happy, obedient, loving you...
When it comes to prayer, let’s have no more empty statements and insincere but polite phrases. Be honest. If you’re mad say so. If you’re confused, say so. And don’t think anything is too small for the Savior’s loving attention...He is our advocate. He stand ready, knowing and calling, ready to respond to the three-second prayer of our heart as well as to the longer pleadings on our knees. He is ready to heal us and make us whole.”
I love that! What comfort it gives that He knows me. My true heart and He longs to heal me and catch me no matter what as long as I come to Him with a sincere honest heart.
President Russel M. Nelson an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said
"Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy?
Just as the Savior offers peace that “passeth all understanding,”He also offers an intensity, depth, and breadth of joy that defy human logic or mortal comprehension. For example, it doesn’t seem possible to feel joy when your child suffers with an incurable illness or when you lose your job or when your spouse betrays you. Yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. His joy is constant, assuring us that our “afflictions shall be but a small moment”and be consecrated to our gain.
As I read that I thought about the or’s he lists. And I thought...what about me? When those or’s are more like ands...“For example it doesn’t seem possible to feel joy when your child..I’ll say children suffer with Lyme Disease AND when you lose your job (or your spouse does) AND when your spouse betrays you.” Yes! Even then...I promise even then “His joy is constant, assuring us that our “afflictions shall be but a small moment”and be consecrated to our gain. How, then, can we claim that joy? We can start by “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” “in every thought.”We can give thanks for Him in our prayers and by keeping covenants we’ve made with Him and our Heavenly Father. As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to be given to us, our joy will increase.
Elder Soares of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said,
Mortal life is a period of testing where we will be proven to see if we will do all things that the Lord our God shall command us.3 This will require unwavering faith in Christ even in times of great difficulty. It will require that we press forward with steadfast faith in Christ, being led by the Spirit and trusting that God will provide for our needs.
There is a quote I absolutely love by Richard G. Scott.
“To gain unshakeable faith in Jesus Christ, is to flood your life with brilliant light”.
That is the key to having unwavering faith and how we begin to live the lives we've always dreamed of. We flood our lives with brilliant light. We seek for anything virtuous lovely or of good report, anything that gives us light and puts us in our happy place. We share happiness, positivity, light with all those around us. And we ignore the raging storms. We fear not. We go forth with faith. With our eyes on the Savior and the abundance of gifts He has given and will still give. He will not leave us comfortless. He will come to us.
As we learn to totally lean on God we can find peace in the middle of great sorrows. I know this to be true. It’s not always easy. But His is the easy path. Even when we falter He is there as we call to him “Lord Save Me” Immediately and forever he waits to catch us and lift us.
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| Picture thanks to https://believingastronomer.com/ |
You know, life has been full of challenges for me the last decade. We've been dealing with Lyme Disease, job loss, major financial issues, and now a pending divorce. I told my son when the trials of life come people either move closer to God or away from God. I have definitely moved closer. I have learned that when I lean on Him I find more peace.
I'm going to dive into the scriptures for a minute.
One of my favorite New Testament stories is of Peter walking on water. Read with me. Matt 14:23-32
23 He (Jesus) went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
--so Jesus left his deciples to be alone in the mountain...they were then without the Savior near when the ship left shore...
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
--the wind was contrary. I love that. Basically it was a bad storm.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
--so they are scared. But Jesus says to them as he does to us. Be of good cheer, it is I.
Be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
-- let’s acknowledge the power of Peter’s faith. He just gets out of the ship in the middle of the sea during a “contrary” storm and walks to the Savior. Just because he believed and followed the Savior’s bid “Come”.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
--then came the fear as he noticed the storm more than the Savior. Yet still, he knew the Lord would save him and had power to save him. And does the Lord hesitate? NEVER...not with Peter and not with you or me...What does he do?
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
--This rebuke “O thou of little faith wherefore didst thou doubt? I believe was said in comfort. Look at the power you have when you don’t doubt. Why did you doubt? Interesting, was it a chide? You of little faith or was it a compliment. Look, even with little faith you walked on water! Why did you then doubt?
Really it doesn’t matter. The point I gain from this is if we keep Christ our focal point and our eyes centered on him, then whatever storms: waves or wind come upon us we will be able to stand and walk. And if we fall all we have to do is say “Lord, save me”. And Immediately Christ will be there to catch us and comfort us.
My favorite scripture is found In James 1:2-6 2
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (or Greek translation afflictions)
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Ok so how do we not waver? I think the key is to confide in God. The dictionary says to confide is to impart secrets, trust fully; discuss private matters or problems. To have full trust; have faith. Some synonyms are: divulge information, admit, bend an ear, breathe (I love that one breathe which makes me think of Inspiration)
So let me ask a question. How often do you really confide in the Lord? How often do we pray vs. just say our prayers. About 15 years ago I read a book that had a big influence on me as a young mother. It is by Chieko Okazaki. She addressed the importance of prayer in her book “Lighten Up!” She says
“Heavenly Father doesn’t want to hear only “nice” prayers. He wants to hear real prayers, honest prayers. How many times are our evening prayers just one more chore...We all know
how to say prayers. We know the polite formula of “we thank athee for the gospel, we ask thee to bless the missionaries..” But who are we trying to kid? Jesus has just seen the stove where the spaghetti boiled over, and it was pretty obvious that wasn’t the only thing that had ever boiled over on that stove. He heard what you muttered when you picked up that one sock, just as you’ve been doing for the past eight years. He caught that worry about the dentist bill that flashed across your mind when you were putting toothpaste on your brush. He doesn’t want polite platitudes. He wants you! All of you! He wants to be the center of your total life - the worried you, the mad you, and the sad you as well as the inspired, happy, obedient, loving you...
When it comes to prayer, let’s have no more empty statements and insincere but polite phrases. Be honest. If you’re mad say so. If you’re confused, say so. And don’t think anything is too small for the Savior’s loving attention...He is our advocate. He stand ready, knowing and calling, ready to respond to the three-second prayer of our heart as well as to the longer pleadings on our knees. He is ready to heal us and make us whole.”
I love that! What comfort it gives that He knows me. My true heart and He longs to heal me and catch me no matter what as long as I come to Him with a sincere honest heart.
President Russel M. Nelson an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said
"Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy?
Just as the Savior offers peace that “passeth all understanding,”He also offers an intensity, depth, and breadth of joy that defy human logic or mortal comprehension. For example, it doesn’t seem possible to feel joy when your child suffers with an incurable illness or when you lose your job or when your spouse betrays you. Yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. His joy is constant, assuring us that our “afflictions shall be but a small moment”and be consecrated to our gain.
As I read that I thought about the or’s he lists. And I thought...what about me? When those or’s are more like ands...“For example it doesn’t seem possible to feel joy when your child..I’ll say children suffer with Lyme Disease AND when you lose your job (or your spouse does) AND when your spouse betrays you.” Yes! Even then...I promise even then “His joy is constant, assuring us that our “afflictions shall be but a small moment”and be consecrated to our gain. How, then, can we claim that joy? We can start by “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” “in every thought.”We can give thanks for Him in our prayers and by keeping covenants we’ve made with Him and our Heavenly Father. As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to be given to us, our joy will increase.
Elder Soares of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said,
Mortal life is a period of testing where we will be proven to see if we will do all things that the Lord our God shall command us.3 This will require unwavering faith in Christ even in times of great difficulty. It will require that we press forward with steadfast faith in Christ, being led by the Spirit and trusting that God will provide for our needs.
There is a quote I absolutely love by Richard G. Scott.
“To gain unshakeable faith in Jesus Christ, is to flood your life with brilliant light”.
That is the key to having unwavering faith and how we begin to live the lives we've always dreamed of. We flood our lives with brilliant light. We seek for anything virtuous lovely or of good report, anything that gives us light and puts us in our happy place. We share happiness, positivity, light with all those around us. And we ignore the raging storms. We fear not. We go forth with faith. With our eyes on the Savior and the abundance of gifts He has given and will still give. He will not leave us comfortless. He will come to us.
As we learn to totally lean on God we can find peace in the middle of great sorrows. I know this to be true. It’s not always easy. But His is the easy path. Even when we falter He is there as we call to him “Lord Save Me” Immediately and forever he waits to catch us and lift us.
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