There was a movie in the 1970's called "Oh, God!" starring George Burns as God. He appeared to a mortal (John Denver) and wanted him to tell the world that he, God, was alive and well.
One of the questions he was asked was, "Do you listen to everyone's prayers?"
His answer was something like, "Oh, no, just the ones that mean it."
There is a difference between saying a prayer and praying.
I thought it made sense that God heard only the ones we really mean, the ones prayed "with all energy of heart."
I was surprised when a teacher once asked, "When you pray, do you expect an answer?" At the time, my honest answer was, No, I don't think I do.
Fast forward a few years to a quote I found:
"There is not a single prayer offered by young or by old, offered in times past or in the present, or ever will be offered by any of Heavenly Father's children, that will not be heard and answered in the due time of the Lord." (Author Unknown)
I don't pretend to know how prayer works, but it has ceased to be a stumbling block to me. I'm glad that I've lived long enough to learn that prayers are heard, and answered, --even mine, and that at any given moment we have a Father in heaven anxious to hear from us.
I love what Julie Wang, a convert from Taiwan said.
She said, "I pray like this. I say, 'Hello, God, this is Julie Wang.'
Then I wait, and He says, 'Hello, Julie.'"
It's nice to know there's Someone on the other end of the line.
No time for God?
What fools we are,
To clutter up our lives with common things,
And leave without the Lord of Life.
Take time for God,
Or a poor misshapen thing you'll be
To step into Eternity and say,
'I had no time for Thee.'"
Anonymous
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Today our sunday school lesson was on the Sermon on the Mount. At the beginning of the lesson each person in the class was given a piece of paper with said "You're Invited" On the inside it read, "The Savior invites you to:" As the class studied His sermon we were supposed to write down the things we felt He was inviting us to do. It could be specifically something said in the scriptures or something we felt through the power of the Spirit. The first, and only, thing I wrote down for today's lesson was this:
The Savior invites you to converse with Him daily - to share the good and the bad and come to know Him as a lover of your soul.
Thank you for reminding me of my on-going invitation.
Sometimes just knowing there is someone on the other end of my prayers is the only thing that gets me through the day. As always, I appreciate the reminders you give. Sometimes I feel like you're talking directly to me, reminding me of things I need to remember.
ditto to Angela and Elizabeth-
I love your blog mom!!
Prayer is no longer a stumbling block for me either. I know my prayers are heard and answered, and this is a great comfort to me.
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