December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

Prayer with this comment: “Your Father knoweth what
things ye have need of before ye ask him” (3 Nephi 13:8;
Matthew 6:8; emphasis added). We know our desires; He
knows our needs. It would be wonderful if our desires
and our needs were always one and the same, but unfortunately
this is not the case. That is why we must “counsel
with the Lord” and then pray, “Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven” (3 Nephi 13:10; see also Matthew 6:10).
Understanding that our Father in Heaven knows our needs,
we can do as Hannah did after pouring out her soul to God
that He would grant her a son. “So the woman went her
way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad”
(1 Samuel 1:18). She had put her desires in the Lord’s
hands, trusting His goodness and wisdom.
When life’s answers don’t match our expectations, it is
“ I
f any of you
lack wisdom,
let him ask of
God, that giveth
to all men
liberally, and
upbraideth not;
and it shall be
given him.”
important to realize that the Lord “doeth not anything save
it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world”
(2 Nephi 26:24). And at a more individual level, Jesus
taught, “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father,
will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish
give him a serpent?” (Luke 11:11). When one needs bread,
a stone is a useless thing. A serpent is a harmful thing. The
Lord does not give stones or serpents, only bread and fish.
As I approached my 19th birthday, I prayed fervently that
the Lord would call me to Denmark on a mission. My grandfather,
uncle, and cousin had all gone to Denmark. I also
prayed that I would not go to France, even though I had
studied four years of French. When I opened the call, it said
France. I served two years in France and loved the French
people, their culture and language, and the wonderful
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