Humility and Prayer

Families are strengthened when individual members walk in humility and prayer because doing so invites the power of God into their lives. Jesus Christ is the greatest example of humility and prayer. He said, "I can of my own self do nothing…. I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" (John 5:30). He freely admitted that His strength came from Heavenly Father. Humility is not a sign of weakness or fear because a person can be both humble and fearless or humble and courageous. Humility is a grateful acknowledgment of the blessings from God and of a person's need for God's support. "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers" (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10). Prayer is the formal or informal act of communicating with God and is the act of a child speaking with a Parent. The Bible Dictionary explains, "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matthew 7:7-11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings" (pp 752-753). President Gordon B. Hinckley taught, "There is no place for arrogance in our lives, no place for conceit, no place for anything of that kind. We are very ordinary people in many respects. We must walk our own way. We are here to do a work, to make something of our lives, and God our Eternal Father will bless us in so doing if we will walk in humility and prayer" (Stand A Little Taller, p 363). Humility and prayer as individuals and as groups give added strength to families.