Scriptures
Do you believe in what Nephi came to know?
Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen. 2 Nephi 4.35
What are the limitations we can put on the Lord? Here are a few that get me:
- The Lord wants me to struggle on this one
- I don’t want to ask too much
- This isn’t that big of a deal. I should pray about more important things instead.
All three of these are easily contradicted by scriptures. He does want us to struggle but struggle with him and overcome (1 Corinthians 10.13). The Lord wants us to ask for all the blessings He’s capable of giving us (Malachi 3.10), and pour out endless blessings.1 And lastly, the Lord works by small and simple means (Alma 37.7).
Perhaps instead those three things should be exactly what we pray for:
- What can we struggle on together? (Matthew 11.28–30)
- What’s the gift that thou art willing to bless me with? (Matthew 6.8 )
- What’s the smallest piece of help I could possibly ask for? (Ether 2.23)
The phrase “ask not amiss” isn’t some indication that a secret code needs to be enacted. That to unlock the heavens, the prayer needs to be offered in the right way at the right time by the right person.
How can you ask amiss? The scriptures teach us. If we’re selfish, seek our own, are puffed up, are easily provoked, want revenge, are greedy, etc. then we’re asking amiss.
But if we’re trying to do our best to be good people and dealing with the challenging responsibilities of being a father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, neighbor, coworker, manager, etc. then we’re just dealing with life.
What is life without these titles? Who doesn’t work? Who doesn’t have someone to care for?
It’s precisely these things that are worthy of our prayers and divine supplication.
Meaning
The Power of Habitual Prayer is a theme I’ve tried this year. I’ve grown deeply in finding healing by making sure I can have a private place to pray.
I’ve also seen how prayers have been answered in ways I didn’t expect. That something comes unexpectedly and it turns out to be really good. But it wasn’t in the plans.
This is kind of like a personal manna. God delivers. Not expected. But welcomed.
Is eternal life not the greatest gift we could ask for? If we’re willing to ask for that, then why not for help in our temporal life circumstances?↩︎
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Bryan lives somewhere at the intersection of faith, fatherhood, and futurism and writes about tech, books, Christianity, gratitude, and whatever’s on his mind. If you liked reading, perhaps you’ll also like subscribing: