We are taught to pray over all things.\u00a0 If there is something we want to change about ourselves, we must pray about it.\u00a0 If there is something we must overcome, we are urged to discuss it with the Lord.\u00a0 We might want to be more patient, more sensitive, more spiritual, less extravagant, less negative, less selfish.\u00a0 Well, LOOK OUT JOB, because the next thing we know Satan and the Lord are fighting over us.<\/p>\n
When you make a fresh commitment in your prayers, do you ever feel like things suddenly get harder for you?\u00a0 You are more IMpatient than ever. \u00a0You feel the urge to go on a shopping spree.\u00a0 Your mouth just lets loose on an incredible rant and tirade that you can\u2019t seem to control.\u00a0 Then, of course, afterwards, you think- what happened, I was trying to be so GOOD.<\/p>\n
I will always remember the first devotional I ever gave in Seminary.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have anything, so my teacher gave me something from his file.\u00a0 It was how to avoid being a dead duck.\u00a0 Satan isn\u2019t worried about the dead ducks because they aren\u2019t going far from his clutches.\u00a0 On the other hand, if you are a live duck, Satan doesn\u2019t want you to get away, so he\u2019ll set various traps for you to fall into so you can crash and burn.<\/p>\n
The Lord also has a way of setting traps for us.\u00a0 Of course, He wants us to succeed, but He wants us to stretch and prove ourselves as well.\u00a0 The Lord tends to want us to practice our way out of bad behavior, by throwing bad situations at us, to see what we\u2019ll do.<\/p>\n
Have you ever noticed how many bad\/bazaar things can happen to you when you\u2019re trying to turn over a new leaf?\u00a0 How often does something go wrong when you are trying to get ready to go to the temple?\u00a0 What happens when you wake up and commit to not yelling at the kids for the day?\u00a0 Before shopping for something I need, I\u2019ll pray that I will find a good deal and not have to spend so much money.\u00a0 The next thing I know I get home with four packages of stuff and I couldn\u2019t even find what I originally set out to get.\u00a0 Grrrrr!\u00a0 Why does proving good behavior have to be so hard!!<\/p>\n
When my kids were young, and I was desperate for sleep, I would fall asleep while saying my prayers.\u00a0 Do you know how embarrassing that was\u2014to do it every single night?\u00a0 It became more of a habit over time, rather than sleep deprivation.\u00a0 Sometimes my husband would nudge me, and sometimes he wouldn\u2019t, so I would be there for a long while.\u00a0 It was pretty sad, I\u2019d say Dear Heavenly Father\u2026and I\u2019d be out.\u00a0 Night after night.\u00a0 Granted, I had a fair excuse, but it was pretty bad and I would get so mad at myself and apologize forever.<\/p>\n
I began praying that I wouldn\u2019t fall asleep. (It was the first thing on my list, before I fell asleep.) \u00a0I learned some tricks.\u00a0 Keep the prayer short.\u00a0 Have a plan of action: know what you want and don\u2019t settle.\u00a0 Focus, focus, focus.\u00a0 Keep asking for help, knowing things could get harder before they get better.\u00a0 Never, never, never give up.<\/p>\n
I think this philosophy can work for most situations.\u00a0 Try it out and see.\u00a0 But understand that the road is going to be rocky, curves will be thrown at you, the mists are going to pull at you, and the Lord will have a tried people.\u00a0 There is nothing wrong with failing as long as you don\u2019t wallow in failure for too long.\u00a0 Keep working your way out of the hole.\u00a0 Get a better foothold and try again.\u00a0 Beat yourself up a little bit, but not too much.\u00a0 Always remember, the Lord really does want you to succeed, angels are your cheerleaders, ancestors are singing fighting songs in your behalf, and when we finally succeed, we will be able to cheer, sing, and shout halleluiah together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We are taught to pray over all things.\u00a0 If there is something we want to change about ourselves, we must pray about it.\u00a0 If there is something we must overcome, we are urged to discuss it with the Lord.\u00a0 We might want to be more patient, more sensitive, more spiritual, less extravagant, less negative, less […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[472],"tags":[145],"class_list":["post-625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-deadduck"],"yoast_head":"\n