David Bednar: ‘You Don’t Pray To Tell God What You Want, Pray To Find Out What God Wants’

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Elder David A. Bednar remarked in his response to a student’s question that “you don’t pray to tell God what you want or what you need. You pray to find out what God wants for you.”

Prayer

In February 2023, Elder David A. Bednar spoke at a devotional event with a Q&A session at Ensign College. During his address, he debunked a common misconception about prayer, emphasizing that prayer is not solely for fulfilling one’s selfish desires but rather for bringing glory to God.

David described how many people approach prayer with a mindset similar to “shopping in a store.”

“Heavenly Father, I need this, and this, and this and this and deliver it by this time,” he said. “And if you don’t get this and this and this and this by the right time, then God wasn’t listening to my prayers.”

Pray To Find Out What God Wants For You

He explained that sometimes people fail to recognize God’s responses because they may not align with what they wanted to hear. Therefore, he encouraged individuals to avoid viewing God’s responses merely as a “delivery service.”

“You don’t pray to tell God what you want or what you need, you pray to find out what God wants for you,” he emphasized.

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: FINDING REFUGE IN GOD’S DELIVERANCE

David stressed that if people change this mindset about prayer, it will change them forever. He also outlined how to discern whether the answer to one’s prayers is from God by noting that it may not always be something one readily wants to hear or accept.

Additionally, he stated, “If all of your answers are exactly what you want, you’re giving yourself some of those answers. He is not interested in making our lives hard. But to become what we are destined to become as his sons and daughters doesn’t come by staying the same and it doesn’t come by not having to deal with some demanding and difficult things.”

 

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Header Image: Fa Barboza. (Photographer). (2020). Girl Praying, Retrieved April 20, 2024, from: https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-brown-robe-sitting-on-black-leather-couch-yykbf9LiS50