Prayer
This past month our bishop challenged us to think more about our prayers and to make effort to improve them, so it has been on my mind lately. I honestly was struggling to want to pray for a little while there just because of emotional exhaustion. That may seem counter-intuitive but when I'm so down and tired I tend to hibernate and cut myself off from people, which includes God. It was good for me to reconnect and make sure I was being diligent in keeping this important commandment.
However, it was a personal finance class that I'm taking that really has made the difference in my prayers lately. My church is amazing and has developed four courses for members to take regarding business and finance in an effort to help each of us be self-reliant. I lack budgeting skills and have wanted to better manage our money for years so I saw this as a great opportunity. This class doesn't have a teacher but we follow a workbook and have a facilitator that keeps the discussion focused and moving forward. Our group has about eight members and we meet together weekly for 12 weeks. So far we have had three classes and already I have felt the spirit of the Lord during our meetings and have felt so inspired.
The greatest lesson I've learned so far has been with prayer. We discussed how everything on the earth is God's and we need to be responsible stewards over what He has given us. We were challenged to counsel with the Lord about our financial matters; to seek his counsel and guidance. I will admit that at first this seemed strange to me. My husband and I have certainly involved God in our major decisions like moving jobs and houses but it never had occurred to me to involve Him in the more day-to-day things because that seemed so much within my control. I committed after class that day to track my expenses, to counsel with the Lord about financial matters and to seek His help.
Later that week I had my piano tuned. Long story short the piano technician I wanted to come hurt his back and couldn't come so I had another guy that I was unsure about come. My piano is old and had needed to be tuned for awhile because a few notes in particular had gone wonky. When he left they sounded okay but by that night, one night in particular still sounded really bad. It was especially distracting for my piano students and myself as I prepared to accompany a friend in church. I was so frustrated because it had cost $225 and still the piano did not sound good. I avoid confrontation so was nervous to call him to ask that he come back and fix it (which if he wasn't that good why would I want him back?) or to ask for my money to be refunded. I talked about it with my husband and friends and tried to get my courage up to call him.
A few days later I remembered my class commitment and that night when I went to bed, I prayed about the piano. I told Heavenly Father how frustrated I was that I had spent all that money and not gotten the piano fixed and that I was nervous to call the tuner. I asked him to help me figure it out. That is not a prayer I would have offered previously but I felt peaceful when I went to bed. The next afternoon I sat down at the piano and played and after a minute I realized it sounded fine. The previously offensive note sounded nice. I was pretty surprised and tried to ascribe it to the weather or that it just needed to settle and I decided to give it a few days assuming it would go bad again.
That was two weeks ago and the piano still sounds just fine. I don't know how it sounds better but I know it is in direct result to my prayer. I know God hears our prayers; I don't know why He answers the way that He does but in this case I felt very grateful to not only have the problem erased but that I was able to so vividly see His hand in my life.
In class Wednesday we talked about paying tithing and while this is something I do without thinking, a class member said that he prays before he pays his tithing (it feels different now that we can do it online instead of handing it to our bishop). We also learned that when we pay tithing, one of the blessings is that God helps us be more wise about what to do with the 90 percent left. That blew my mind! We often talk about the blessings of tithing being monetary but wisdom and discernment and discipline are also important blessings. I put this into practice too and prayed before I paid my tithing and all of our other bills yesterday. I paid tithing, put some into savings (instead of saving whatever was leftover which is usually nothing) and then paid our bills. We had enough to cover everything with a whole $40 left in our checking account.
While praying I had felt such gratitude for a husband who is educated and works hard to support our family, allowing me to fulfill my role as best as possible by being in our home, which I love and appreciate. I also felt gratitude to Heavenly Father that we are healthy and safe and have everything we need. That changed my attitude when paying the bills and instead of being stressed, I felt grateful and peaceful. Prayer really is the opportunity to work with Heavenly Father and allow Him to be a part of my life, even in what seems like little details of it. I know He is there, that He listens, that He answers and that our hearts can be changed and our lives enriched as we talk with Him regularly to express gratitude and to ask for His help.
However, it was a personal finance class that I'm taking that really has made the difference in my prayers lately. My church is amazing and has developed four courses for members to take regarding business and finance in an effort to help each of us be self-reliant. I lack budgeting skills and have wanted to better manage our money for years so I saw this as a great opportunity. This class doesn't have a teacher but we follow a workbook and have a facilitator that keeps the discussion focused and moving forward. Our group has about eight members and we meet together weekly for 12 weeks. So far we have had three classes and already I have felt the spirit of the Lord during our meetings and have felt so inspired.
The greatest lesson I've learned so far has been with prayer. We discussed how everything on the earth is God's and we need to be responsible stewards over what He has given us. We were challenged to counsel with the Lord about our financial matters; to seek his counsel and guidance. I will admit that at first this seemed strange to me. My husband and I have certainly involved God in our major decisions like moving jobs and houses but it never had occurred to me to involve Him in the more day-to-day things because that seemed so much within my control. I committed after class that day to track my expenses, to counsel with the Lord about financial matters and to seek His help.
Later that week I had my piano tuned. Long story short the piano technician I wanted to come hurt his back and couldn't come so I had another guy that I was unsure about come. My piano is old and had needed to be tuned for awhile because a few notes in particular had gone wonky. When he left they sounded okay but by that night, one night in particular still sounded really bad. It was especially distracting for my piano students and myself as I prepared to accompany a friend in church. I was so frustrated because it had cost $225 and still the piano did not sound good. I avoid confrontation so was nervous to call him to ask that he come back and fix it (which if he wasn't that good why would I want him back?) or to ask for my money to be refunded. I talked about it with my husband and friends and tried to get my courage up to call him.
A few days later I remembered my class commitment and that night when I went to bed, I prayed about the piano. I told Heavenly Father how frustrated I was that I had spent all that money and not gotten the piano fixed and that I was nervous to call the tuner. I asked him to help me figure it out. That is not a prayer I would have offered previously but I felt peaceful when I went to bed. The next afternoon I sat down at the piano and played and after a minute I realized it sounded fine. The previously offensive note sounded nice. I was pretty surprised and tried to ascribe it to the weather or that it just needed to settle and I decided to give it a few days assuming it would go bad again.
That was two weeks ago and the piano still sounds just fine. I don't know how it sounds better but I know it is in direct result to my prayer. I know God hears our prayers; I don't know why He answers the way that He does but in this case I felt very grateful to not only have the problem erased but that I was able to so vividly see His hand in my life.
In class Wednesday we talked about paying tithing and while this is something I do without thinking, a class member said that he prays before he pays his tithing (it feels different now that we can do it online instead of handing it to our bishop). We also learned that when we pay tithing, one of the blessings is that God helps us be more wise about what to do with the 90 percent left. That blew my mind! We often talk about the blessings of tithing being monetary but wisdom and discernment and discipline are also important blessings. I put this into practice too and prayed before I paid my tithing and all of our other bills yesterday. I paid tithing, put some into savings (instead of saving whatever was leftover which is usually nothing) and then paid our bills. We had enough to cover everything with a whole $40 left in our checking account.
While praying I had felt such gratitude for a husband who is educated and works hard to support our family, allowing me to fulfill my role as best as possible by being in our home, which I love and appreciate. I also felt gratitude to Heavenly Father that we are healthy and safe and have everything we need. That changed my attitude when paying the bills and instead of being stressed, I felt grateful and peaceful. Prayer really is the opportunity to work with Heavenly Father and allow Him to be a part of my life, even in what seems like little details of it. I know He is there, that He listens, that He answers and that our hearts can be changed and our lives enriched as we talk with Him regularly to express gratitude and to ask for His help.
This is beautiful and just what I needed to read today! Thanks for sharing your experiences and your wisdom <3
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