Talking with God

For Christmas, I got a book from my parents called, "Talking with God" by Robert Millet. I absolutely loved it! I've been praying since I could speak, every single day. And I must admit, there have been times when I've lost the meaning of my prayer in the rush of daily life. I learned so much from Robert Millet about how to make my communication with God more effective. What follows are just two principles of prayer that were discuessed by Bro. Millet- two principles that have changed my prayers.

#1- Preparation for Prayer

Dr. Millet said, "Preparation precedes power, and not just in lessons and sermons....we should not expect to rush into the presence of Deity, mouth a few well-worn phrases, race away, and then feel satisfied with the marvelous experience we have just enjoyed" (Millet 11). I've tried to apply this counsel in my life recently by pondering about what I should pray for. This gives me time to think about where my prayer should focus, and provides me the chance to clear my thoughts of things of the world. It ensures that in the middle of my prayers, the accounting homework that I'm struggling with doesn't sneak onto the scene, filling my mind with debits and credits! It's imperative that we prepare to speak with Father in Heaven, because powerful prayer can prepare us for our daily struggles.

#2- When no Clear Answer Comes

This has to be one of my favorite principles I've ever learned. How many times have you prayed for an answer, and it doesn't feel like the Lord is pushing you one way or the other? How simple life would be if every plea for direction, every question we ever offered up in faith was answered directly. Dr. Millet quoted Brigham Young who said, "If I do not know the will of my Father, and what He requires of me in a certain transaction, if I ask Him to give me wisdom concerning any requirement in life...and get no answer from Him, and then do the very best that my judgement will teach me, He is bound to own and honor that transaction, and He will do so to all intents and purposes" (Millet 45). I'm reminded of a recent visit by Elder Bednar to Oklahoma City. He had a question and answer session. One of the questions that was asked was by a young husband who was a pre-medicine student trying to choose a field to enter. He asked Elder Bednar if asking about which field to enter was an appropriate question for Heavenly Father, and what he should do if no clear answer came. The sincerity with which he asked Elder Bednar, made clear how often he'd prayed before about this. Elder Bednar said, "Choose according to your best judgement, and then be a good boy." I love the beautiful simplicity of Elder Bednar's response. Just "be a good boy", or girl in other cases. He then quoted Doctrine and Covenants 80:3 which says "go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north or to the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for ye cannot go amiss." His point was that sometimes there's not one right answer. Part of life is making decisions using our judgement and reason. If we've done all we can do to receive an answer and we just aren't getting one, it's possible that God is waiting for us to decide. And in those cases, as we are living the gospel He will not let us go amiss.

If you have a chance to read Robert Millet's book, I would definitely recommend it. It was such a great reminder to me that "Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil" (Packer 124).