Elaine Cannon wrote:
When adversity in any form hits, pray. Usually we think of prayer in the life and death traumas. But small problems can become bigger ones if we haven’t made a practice of turning first to Heavenly Father for whatever it takes to solve, survive, and deal appropriately with the challenge at the moment.
Prayer is a blessing.
. . . . I wonder how people manage life without taking their burdens to the Lord. He may not give us immediate relief from the problem we’re struggling with, but we can get a lift in spirit. We can sense direction. We can feel God’s love. We can be greatly strengthened. We can be aware of his sustaining influence. We can be heartened to go forward.
If you are burdened, pray. You will feel comforted.
If you are dying, pray. You will have peace.
If your husband goes off with another woman, pray. Pray for comfort, for guidance, for patience, for forgiveness, and the soul will heal.
If your teenager is in desperate trouble with drugs, sex, dishonesty, rebellion, or grades, pray. You’ll know that God cares. He’ll sustain you in your efforts to help the troubled youth.
If you lose your job and the bills are piled high, pray. Pray until your faith is firm. Then your mind is ready to receive God’s will.
If you are depressed and hopeless, pray. Hope is the other side of faith. Pray and know that God lives. Everything will ultimately be alright.
~Elaine Cannon, A Year of Powerful Prayer (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 2013) 294-95
