Personal Prayer: Living in Love with God Book

Mr. DeStefano has written a short, but encouraging book on prayer. As the title promises, he lists and discusses ten prayers he affirms that God will always answer:
* God, show me that You exist
* God, make me an instrument
* God, outdo me in generosity
* God, get me through this suffering
* God, forgive me
* God, give me peace
* God, give me courage
* God, give me wisdom
* God, bring good out of this bad situation
* God, lead me to my destiny

God desperately wants to communicate with us. "In fact, the history of the world is really the history of God trying to communicate with mankind...The fact is that we have a God who loves to communicate. And the reason is that communication is the starting point for any relationship."

Of course, there are a few "catches." First of all, what we pray for must be in accordance with God's will. God, Mr. DeStefano explains, "is concerned about only one thing: our ultimate good, which boils down to whether or not we make it to heaven. Every request we make of God is 'evaluated' by him in light of that long-term goal." We also have to pray in sincerity, having faith - trust - in God, to whatever extent we are capable at that time. "The goal here is to suspend your disbelief--if only temporarily--to give God a chance to enter your life." And we have to recognize that our actions and attitude may affect our ability to receive answers. Mr. DeStefano explains this through an analogy: "Let's say you took two glasses of water, one clean and clear, the other dark and cloudy, and dropped a shiny gold coin into each of them. Through which glass would it be easier to see the coin fall? Obviously, the glass with the clean water. Well, it's the same with people. If God decides to reach down into your life and touch you in a special way in response to a prayer you've said, it's going to be a little more difficult to see his hand if the life you're leading is dark and cloudy, morally speaking...If you are living an immoral sort of existence now, it might take you a little longer to discern the hand of God in your life--but you will discern it."

Mr. DeStefano gives a beautiful treatise on faith while discussing the first prayer - God, show me that You exist - that in many ways parallels Alma 32. "When you say this prayer, your faith will begin to grow--slowly at first, and then geometrically...The more steps you take toward God, the closer He will come to you...Your faith is going to get deeper and deeper the more time you are exposed to the light of God. It may take some time, but believe me, you are going to get to the point where you no longer have any doubts about his existence."

I particularly loved his explanation of the second prayer - God, make me an instrument. This prayer, he says, "ties into the very essence of God's being, which is love. If we pray for God to use us as an instrument to help someone else, we are really praying to be God-like." He adds, "Saying this prayer is actually going to make you a much happier person than you are right now. Happiness is the thing God is going to give you in return for your selflessness." And then I love this thought: "If God is going to use you as an instrument, he is going to begin fashioning and shaping you so that you can be the best possible instrument...The result is that your life is going to change for the better-you are going to change for the better. Whether you like it or not, you are going to start improving in all sorts of areas. In order to be a channel of God's grace, you are going to necessarily have to grow in grace yourself."

Mr. DeStefano writes from a Catholic perspective, but notes that he made the effort to make it as widely applicable to all Christian faiths as he could. Reading it from an LDS perspective, I was impressed at how applicable and familiar many of his points were.

Other thoughts that stuck with me:
* "No matter how great the cause, it's essential that you never neglect your other duties in life...Fulfilling your God-given obligation to your family always comes first."
* "Forgiveness has one meaning: wishing a person the greatest possible good--which basically means wishing them salvation and heaven."
* "A good Christian is not someone who doesn't ever sin, but someone who repents every time he does."
* "No matter how smart you are, no matter how rich you are, there's just no way to prevent 'external' events from interfering with your plans. That's why you can't ever allow your peace of mind to depend on external events."
* "C.S. Lewis said that 'courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.'"
* "The goal of authentic spirituality is to be in union with God...When you're in union with God, you have direct and immediate access to all of the things that God is, and that includes peace, courage, love, wisdom, and truth. God wants you to have these things; he wants to shine his light on humanity, to speak his word unceasingly."
* "Perhaps the greatest good that can come of suffering is that it has the potential to make a person more Christ-like."
* "God is a God of perfect timing."
* "Getting right with God is the great shortcut, cure-all, and equalizer in life. It won't necessarily prevent you from suffering, but it will guarantee that you'll see God's plan for your life so much more clearly. And it will guarantee that you accomplish your role in that plan in the most effective, efficient way possible."

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