Today's favorite verse: James 4:3
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."
This morning before reading my scriptures I said my prayers. In the middle of it the thought came to me that I was asking for way to much. I was spending way to much time asking for things and not thanking my Heavenly Father more.
As seeming the pattern lately, with a pre-lesson before reading His good words, I find this verse that emphases what was spoken. I pondered on the things I was asking for in my prayers. About the only material thing I ask for is protection over my home. I don't care about my material items, in fact they could all burn. What I don't want is my genealogy to be harmed until I have it all digitized and stored in the cloud for just such an event.
I pray for family and friends, leaders of the church, missionaries. I ask for wisdom, the spirit and His protection. As I have mentally gone over my requests I am not really seeing them as things I am lusting after. Yet, I know something was amiss. I read all the scripture references on lust and none of them fit how I felt. As I pondered deeper I realized I couldn't say any of my prayers were not being answered. I am knocking and receiving. So what is amiss?
Then the inspiration came. The opposite of consuming things on my lusts, is doing God's will. Now can I do His will if I am only asking for mine? I then looked at the footnote for the rest of this verse and was lead to Helaman 10:4-6 and this part really stood out to me "for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will". The spirit told me "Yes, you got it right, this is what you need to understand."
I am certainly not a Nephi, but where he is I want to be. I have pondered deeper on this new thought and see the spirit won't tell me more right now. I need to study this one out in my mind a while. Until then I will fill my prayers with gratitude and thanks. It seems the key to asking what is His will.
Day 139 Tami Fitzgerald Harris
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