You're Strong Enough (8 page)

Prayer

To use the atonement, especially to its fullest, we must pray. Pray and ask God to heal us, forgive us and comfort us. The atonement does us no good if we do not pray and ask our Father to apply it. Therefore, we must learn to pray when seeking to use the atonement in our life and to get closer to God.

Prayer is the avenue that we need to use in order to communicate with our Heavenly Father. This communication can strengthen our spirits better than any other of God’s tools.

Our Heavenly Father did not leave us alone on our quest without a way for us to call Him when we need His help.

Prayer is the best way to light our path when we are struggling to find our way.
Our Heavenly Father is the only one with the answers to all of our problems. Therefore, when you find yourself wondering aimlessly in the dark (divorced parents) on this tiny little path, who is the only one that can guide you through? When we pray and ask God to help us with our quest, we must do so having faith that He will answer. Remember, no other person on Earth will ever know you as well as God does. Therefore, it is wise to seek His counsel when looking for answers especially while in the dark.

If you have never prayed before, try it. Ask Him if He is there. This is an example on how to pray for those who are new to praying. But, remember, a prayer is simply any heartfelt communication between you and God. You’ll want to call Him by name, (Dear Heavenly Father). Then, ask Him what you want to know. Basically, just talk to Him. Once you are done talking with Him, end the prayer, “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” and then listen. Don’t hang up. For example: If you were to call a friend, would you talk the whole time and then hang up before your friend had a chance to respond? Doubtful. The same thing applies to our Heavenly Father. We must wait for His response when asking for His help.

When you are done talking with God, see what comes to your mind or what you start to feel. The Spirit feels different to everyone. As mentioned in chapter one, the Spirit can sometimes feel like the chills. Perhaps, you’ll start to cry. You might have some great ideas. Whatever you do feel, know that God is answering you and that He loves you.

The process of prayer is important. Equally important is what to do when receiving an answer to your prayers. When you do get a prompting or answer from God,
follow it!
If you don’t, then why did you just pray? If we seek God’s counsel through prayer and then do nothing with the answer He gives, it’s like waiting all day to catch a fish then cutting the line when a fish is finally hooked. The answers from God are there to help you with your life and this quest. Make sure you act on the answers you receive.

Trust God’s Opinion

One of Satan’s greatest traps and deepest pitfalls is to convince us that God does not love us if He doesn’t answer our prayers immediately.

Watch out for Satan’s Fiery Darts of Lies!

Our Heavenly Father does not answer prayers immediately for two reasons. First, if the thing we asked for is not good for us and we are asking God to approve it, He will not answer us. For example, if we are asking our Heavenly Father if we should go to our friend’s party and our Heavenly Father knows at the party there’s a group of kids putting date rape drugs in the drinks, He will not approve your request.

Our Heavenly Father is there to help us in achieving our quest, not to make it more difficult. He will never agree or confirm any answer that is not in your best interest. Therefore, it’s important we trust our Heavenly Father’s opinion. If He is not answering us or it feels wrong, trust Him for He knows everything and everyone.
He will never lead us down dark alleys, only lighted streets.

The second reason our Heavenly Father will not answer prayers immediately is if it’s not the right time. For example: We may feel we are ready to experience the world on our own and go on a trip to Europe. So we ask our Heavenly Father’s opinion. Should we go? No response comes. What does that mean? Does it mean He doesn’t want us to go? Not necessarily, it could just mean you’re not ready. He may feel there’s more for you to do in America and with your family before you go to Europe.

Timing is everything with our Heavenly Father. Let’s say you are doing pretty well on your quest, and, as you are walking down this path, you come to a stream. As you near the stream, you see a boat. So you ask our Heavenly Father if you should cross the stream. And He doesn’t answer. Now you’re frustrated because you just want to get to the other side. So, you ask again. Still you get no answer. So you ask the third time and still no answer. Finally, you’re tired of waiting. So, you get into the boat. As you are ready to push off from the shore, all of a sudden, a huge flash flood goes over the stream. Luckily, you were able to jump back onto dry land and be safe. Your Heavenly Father knew the flash flood was coming, so He didn’t answer your prayer immediately. Once the flood was over, He then gave you the feeling to go ahead and go to the other side of the stream.

Prayers are answered when He feels the time is right and when He feels that what you’re asking is good for you.
Our Heavenly Father loves you very much and wants the best for you. So, trust Him when your answers don’t come immediately. When Heavenly Father does answer your prayers, let Him guide you. The path He will take you on will be one of safety and peace. It will, ultimately, fulfill a successful quest.

Each one of us can achieve anything we want when we seek our Heavenly Father’s guidance and counsel. Our Heavenly Father is the only one that can see through the darkness on our life’s path. Counsel with Him. Ask His opinion. Most importantly, seek His guidance when you feel lost.

My Quest for Inner Strength

When I was thirteen years old and playing tennis in California, my mom moved down to be with me. The pressure she placed on me to succeed was overwhelming. It created a lot of tension between us. When my coach saw the pressure my mom was putting it on me, he said something to her. As a result, he was fired. Changing coaches and feeling the pressure of having to be a perfect tennis player dampened my desire to play well anymore. One day, when I was playing a couple of matches with this new coach and with my mom watching, I felt no desire to be there playing tennis. So, I lost every match.

After I was done playing, my mom and I got into the car to go home. Before starting the car, she turned to look at me, gave me a disgusted look and then started yelling at me. She told me she couldn’t believe I had lost. She reminded me that she had moved to California so I could be a star. She couldn’t understand why I would just lose so easily just because I didn’t feel like playing anymore. After she was done venting her frustrations, she turned and hit me. She then told me to get out of the car and walk home. I got out of the car, thinking she just needed to cool down. But then, suddenly, she drove off leaving me there all alone.

Here I was, all by myself high up in the hills at nine o’clock at night. Most of the roads were covered with trees. There were no streetlights and only dirt paths to walk on. Our apartment was about a thirty-minute drive away and I didn’t know how to get home because my mom had always driven me. I had no idea what to do. I was thirteen years old, in a tennis skirt, all by myself.

I was scared and lonely. All I could think of doing was to start praying and ask God to guide me home. After I prayed, I remembered a song I used to sing as a child in my church. The song was, “I am a child of God.” The song talks about being one of the Heavenly Father’s children and that, with Him, nothing is impossible. As I started to sing this song, I felt a peace come over me. Then, a feeling of happiness swept into my heart. I felt so happy in fact, that I started skipping. In about forty-five minutes I found myself in front of the apartment.

I was guided that day in the darkness of the night by a loving Heavenly Father who knew exactly how to help me get home.

Our Heavenly Father has sent us to this Earth to complete this quest with every tool that we will ever need to come out successfully. These tools and gifts will help us find inner strength. Strength comes from knowing, no matter what Satan tries to do to thwart our efforts, no matter what humans try to intentionally or unintentionally to push us off the path, we will always have what we need, when we need it, if we ask.

Our Heavenly Father hears our thoughts and knows our hearts. He knows when we are struggling and when we feel faint. Ask for His help through prayer. With His help we are always strong enough for any evil that gets in our way to make it back home.

Your Quest for Inner Strength

Your first quest
for inner strength begins with discovering what strengths and weakness you have. You can either ask someone you know (as noted in the beginning of this chapter) or you can search within. Write down your strengths first and then your weaknesses. Post your strengths on a wall and look at them every day, to help build confidence.

Once your strengths and weaknesses have been listed, write down how your strengths have helped you when you were struggling and how they can do so in the future. Then write down how your weaknesses have hindered your progress. Look within and make a plan for how you can be more aware when your weaknesses are challenged, so that you can avoid the pitfalls Satan will try and push you into. Try and be more conscious of the pitfalls that can easily grab you. Avoid them and ask God to turn your weaknesses into strengths.