Did you think to pray?

I'm sitting here, unsure of what to write about, and all I can think about is prayer. 

If you Google the definition of prayer, you get "a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God."

I love that. 

If prayer is a solemn or sincere request for help from God, why don't we pray more often? 

This life is incredibly tough and we simply cannot make it through alone. We need the help from our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. 

I cannot stress that enough. 

We NEED the help. 

I've realized in the last few years that I, much like both of my parents, am stubborn and often times I do not like to admit that I need help, but without the help of God, I quickly become overwhelmed by the world and things of the world. 

Something I've realized this past week or so is how much I have come to rely on the power of prayer in this last year. 

If I am stressed out about something, I pray.

If I need comfort, I pray.

If I need to calm my mind and body, I pray.

I will literally pray about anything going on in my mind and I find myself always telling others to pray too.

Lately, I've been hit with incredibly hard trials. My current one being that my sister is struggling with her self worth. When I talked to her last, she told me how she doesn't feel like anyone cares about her and she doesn't see the point in living anymore. She's been in and out of different hospitals and therapy programs to help her with this and some other mental health problems she's currently battling. As her sister, my heart is breaking for her. I love her dearly and I wish she could understand that and know what she is worth not only to me, but to her Heavenly Father. But, for now, all I can do is pray for her and my family.  

Thomas S. Monson tells us that prayer has become an integral part of him. It is "an anchor, a constant source of strength." 

I could not agree more with this statement. Prayer is my anchor. It is my constant source of strength. Without it, I do not believe I would be functioning as I am today. Even still, I cannot always be strong. When I finally realize that I can't bear the things happening, I fall apart and I break down.  I get down on my knees and I pray for help. I pray for strength to overcome these trials. 

I know that I can't simply pray that the trial will be over because I haven't learned what I am meant to learn yet. If I had, I wouldn't be asking for Him to take this trial away from me. Instead, I need to ask for the strength to overcome or defeat my trial. It may not happen overnight but He will give you the strength you need and help you through whatever your trial is. 

The second part of the definition of prayer is that it is an expression of thanks.

When we are taught to pray, we are told to thank our Heavenly Father for whatever we are grateful for. Typically, I thank Him for the weather and the people in my life and whatever else comes to my mind at that moment but, I forget to thank Him for the trials in my life.  

I know that it seems weird but, we should be thanking Him for the trials sent our way. They aren't meant to tear us down and make us sad. They are meant to build us up and help us to become strong in our faith. 

Think about that for a second. Though our trials are hard, some harder than others, there is always something to be learned from them.

They are meant to help us grow.

That is absolutely something that I want to thank my Heavenly Father for. 

Without the trials in my life I know that I would not be who I am today. I would not be grateful and I would not be happy. Because of these trials placed in my life, I have been able to grow in my faith. I'm grateful for the things I've been through and am going through because they help to strengthen my testimony of the Atonement, of prayer, and of our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. Prayer is so real. It is so powerful. It can strengthen you and comfort you with the help of the Holy Ghost. It's an incredible opportunity to humble ourselves before our God and ask for help and to thank Him for all that he does for us. He is truly an eternally loving Heavenly Father.