Prayers from the Heart

Day eight

Last night as I was waiting for my family to finish up whatever they were doing and gather for family prayer, I grabbed my scriptures and started reading.  A verse in Section 81 caused me to pause, it stated "...in prayer always, vocally and in thy heart..."(v. 3).  What does it mean to pray always in thy heart? I started searching the scriptures for an answer and in my search was led to a different thought, "If I prayed from my heart,  what would I really pray for?"

This is the thought that was with me as I fell asleep and it was still there when I awoke this morning.  My prayers this morning would need to be focused on the things that were in my heart.  I thought about the prayers I have said in the last week and the things that I had prayed for: guidance, forgiveness, blessings for my family, to name a few.  I realized that thoughts of my family are always in my heart. This led me to my next discovery...

Each day I pray that my family members will travel in safety and have a desire to have the Spirit with them.    I worry about there physical well being.  I think it's because of the the normal "what-if" worries of a wife and mother.  My husband commutes on a windy road and my sons travel in heavy traffic. What-if someone crashes into them? What-if the roads are icy?

Then a moment of clarity came, what about the spiritual damage that can happen each day?  Am I praying for the spiritual well being of my family?  I do pray that they will have a desire to have the Spirit with them, but is that enough?  Do I pray for them to have opportunities to have that happen?  Am I asking the Lord to help them discern the things of the world from the things that are spiritual?    

The message for me is: Spiritual protection for my family. 

This is the desire of my heart today, to know that my family is spiritually strong.  A knowledge of this would fill my heart with peace and joy.  If each member of my family was spiritually protected and was able to increase their love for the Lord, imagine the blessings not only for us, but for those around us.

I now had a better understanding of what a prayer from the heart would be and I got down on my knees and put it into practice. 

What would be your prayer from the heart?  Just some food for thought.