We are taught to pray over all things.  If there is something we want to change about ourselves, we must pray about it.  If there is something we must overcome, we are urged to discuss it with the Lord.  We might want to be more patient, more sensitive, more spiritual, less extravagant, less negative, less selfish.  Well, LOOK OUT JOB, because the next thing we know Satan and the Lord are fighting over us.

When you make a fresh commitment in your prayers, do you ever feel like things suddenly get harder for you?  You are more IMpatient than ever.  You feel the urge to go on a shopping spree.  Your mouth just lets loose on an incredible rant and tirade that you can’t seem to control.  Then, of course, afterwards, you think- what happened, I was trying to be so GOOD.

I will always remember the first devotional I ever gave in Seminary.  I didn’t have anything, so my teacher gave me something from his file.  It was how to avoid being a dead duck.  Satan isn’t worried about the dead ducks because they aren’t going far from his clutches.  On the other hand, if you are a live duck, Satan doesn’t want you to get away, so he’ll set various traps for you to fall into so you can crash and burn.

The Lord also has a way of setting traps for us.  Of course, He wants us to succeed, but He wants us to stretch and prove ourselves as well.  The Lord tends to want us to practice our way out of bad behavior, by throwing bad situations at us, to see what we’ll do.

Have you ever noticed how many bad/bazaar things can happen to you when you’re trying to turn over a new leaf?  How often does something go wrong when you are trying to get ready to go to the temple?  What happens when you wake up and commit to not yelling at the kids for the day?  Before shopping for something I need, I’ll pray that I will find a good deal and not have to spend so much money.  The next thing I know I get home with four packages of stuff and I couldn’t even find what I originally set out to get.  Grrrrr!  Why does proving good behavior have to be so hard!!

When my kids were young, and I was desperate for sleep, I would fall asleep while saying my prayers.  Do you know how embarrassing that was—to do it every single night?  It became more of a habit over time, rather than sleep deprivation.  Sometimes my husband would nudge me, and sometimes he wouldn’t, so I would be there for a long while.  It was pretty sad, I’d say Dear Heavenly Father…and I’d be out.  Night after night.  Granted, I had a fair excuse, but it was pretty bad and I would get so mad at myself and apologize forever.

I began praying that I wouldn’t fall asleep. (It was the first thing on my list, before I fell asleep.)  I learned some tricks.  Keep the prayer short.  Have a plan of action: know what you want and don’t settle.  Focus, focus, focus.  Keep asking for help, knowing things could get harder before they get better.  Never, never, never give up.

I think this philosophy can work for most situations.  Try it out and see.  But understand that the road is going to be rocky, curves will be thrown at you, the mists are going to pull at you, and the Lord will have a tried people.  There is nothing wrong with failing as long as you don’t wallow in failure for too long.  Keep working your way out of the hole.  Get a better foothold and try again.  Beat yourself up a little bit, but not too much.  Always remember, the Lord really does want you to succeed, angels are your cheerleaders, ancestors are singing fighting songs in your behalf, and when we finally succeed, we will be able to cheer, sing, and shout halleluiah together.