followers of my faith [Mormon Monday 14]

In sort of a continuation from last week's post, we should not only wait in patience for an answer to prayer but be engaged in our lives. The Lord does not want to do all the work when part of the point is to make us better.

Here is an expanded quote from the graphic above:

We must not imagine that any kind of prayer, no matter how sincere, will be very effective if all we do is to say the prayer. We must not only say our prayers; we must also live them. The Lord is much more pleased with the person who prays and then goes to work than with the person who only prays. Much like medicine, prayer works only when we use it as directed.

When I say that prayer is a sweet privilege, it is not just because I am grateful to be able to talk to Heavenly Father and to feel His Spirit when I pray. It is also because He actually answers and speaks to us. Of course, the way He speaks to us is usually not with a voice we hear. President Boyd K. Packer explained: “That sweet, quiet voice of inspiration comes more as a feeling than it does as a sound. Pure intelligence can be spoken into the mind. … This guidance comes as thoughts, as feelings through promptings and impressions” (“Prayer and Promptings,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 44).

Sometimes we seem to get no answer to our sincere and striving prayers. It takes faith to remember that the Lord answers in His time and in His way so as to best bless us. Or, on further reflection, we will often realize that we already know full well what we should do.
(J. Devn Cornish, "The Privilege of Prayer," in Ensign and Liahona, Nov 2011, 101)

There's a lot to remember when looking for an answer to prayer! Don't forget to take joy in it, make it a true "sweet hour of prayer" (even though it doesn't have to take an hour, it should still be sweet).