Happy St. Patrick's day everyone! It's always fun to participate in a little holiday spirit! Luckily it landed on a preparation day! (Mondays are our day to take off of proselyting to get ready for the week - Preparation day)
This past weekend has been transfer time, which happens every six weeks. On these weeks, we have the chance of moving to another area. For the next six weeks, I will still be here with Elder Bell. I am so happy, because we have a great time (see picture) but still stay focused on the work.
Each week, our mission president sends out a mass email to all of the 230+ missionaries in our mission with advice or spiritual thoughts. This week, I'd like to talk about something he said. He suggested that as we teach people how to pray, we ask them "If God were in the room right now, what would you ask Him?" Making our prayers as a conversation with our Father in Heaven is a very important skill to learn. It is hard to imagine a real, tangible being who can hear our communications to Him and those of everyone else who makes such attempts. That is an amazing, miraculous concept. If we can imagine speaking in direct conversation to Him, however, we will learn to grasp that concept and we will become aware of it's truthfulness. As I have taken the time to truly imagine my Father listening to me as I pray, my prayers become more sincere and earnest, and my faith in God develops as the answers become more easily recognizable. Practicing this daily has brought me a surety that God hears are prayers and that He has a deep, unconditional love for each of us. In psychology class, the suggestion was made that many religious people can have imaginary relationships with a higher power that they believe in. This caused me to wonder, but I beg to differ. Those who call upon the Lord in sincerity can feel indescribable influences come into their heart and mind. Prayer is a very real gift. It is a true line of communication with the Father of our spirits, inexplicable by science or reason. I invite each of you to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, as the Savior himself taught. He wants to be an influence in your life. There are not many who want to influence your life, motivated 100% by a desire for your well-being, and nobody, even you, knows what you need better than Him.
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