"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6

Last night after writing about "receiving" I kept thinking about it. I would wake up and think about it and in the morning I was thinking about it. In the Topical Guide under "receive" it says: "see also Accept". So, perhaps what I need to be asking myself about receiving is, "what am I willing to accept" and "what do I want to accept?" There are a lot of things I think I want, but then I get them and they are a lot of responsibility and I wish I hadn't received or accepted them. Or there have been things that I have not wanted and then received and thought, "why did I wait so long?"

I know that Heavenly Father lets us totally choose what we want to receive. He will never give us more than we can bear (see 1 Cor. 10:13, Alma 13:28) and He will also give us what we want. The question really is, do we really want the responsibility that comes with what we ask for? We are told 33 times in the scriptures "ask and ye shall receive". I am sure there are other forms of asking and receiving as well, such as " ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7). I think sometimes we ask, but not with real intent, meaning we really don't intend to do anything about the stuff we are asking about, we are just saying words, and then we go about our day.

For example, do I really want to have a relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? And if I do, what am I willing to do about it? Am I willing to actually read the scriptures everyday? How about trying to live as they live? What am I willing to give up so that I can feel the Spirit more frequently in my life so I can have the Spirit with me and therefore have better communication with my Father in Heaven? It requires sacrifice. So, if I pray to have a better relationship with Heavenly Father, am I just saying words or do I really want to have a better relationship with Him? What do I intend to do about it?

Another example. I want to learn a new skill, such as playing the piano. I hear people all the time say, "I wish I could play like that." Do they really? Because it takes hours of practice and sacrifice of time and money to become a good piano player. It is never too late to begin to play...my dad, who is 71 years old, started to take piano lessons at the age of 70. He is doing pretty darn well. He had a desire to learn and asked for guidance, has put in the effort and practiced, and taken lessons and the doors have been opened for him to learn to play the piano at age 71! I know that receiving isn't just about getting what we want when we want it and doing nothing for it. Most often what we really want requires sacrifice...and I promise that sacrifice is so worth it in the long run!

One of my favorite scriptures is D&C 82:10 which reads, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." He is totally bound to us when we keep His commandments. He is committed to us and has to do as we ask of Him when we are obedient to His commandments. That is very powerful! He will give us the desires of our hearts! The question to ask isn't, "what will He give me', because He is going to give it to you, but "What do I really want to accept?"

My last thought about receiving for the night/day is this: "Be careful for nothing (because He is always giving us something, remember the question is, what did I receive or perhaps chose not to receive from the challenge? Was it the blessing of kindness? Honesty? Service? Perhaps patients?) but in every thing  by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Philip. 4:6) You will receive what you ask for, make sure it is what you really want. This I testify is how to get what you really want out of life. Because life is literally filled with blessings just waiting for us to "accept" them.