Baked Oatmeal + Prayer






*baked oatmeal - recipe modified from Inspired Taste's Strawberry Baked Oatmeal*

A couple weeks back in church we had a lesson on prayer. I love having lessons and discussions on these basic things because it never hurts to learn again. And every time we relearn something we already thought we knew, it's a chance for us to look at it in a new light, and learn something new!

Before I go any further, you should know that no matter what religion you are, I think this will apply to you. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But when I share about spiritual things, I'd like to think that they're relatable to those outside my own church. 

The thing that hit me so hard this time was that praying is appropriate at all time. I know it's sometimes a struggle to remember to pray once in the morning and once at night. Which actually sounds ridiculous. How can you 'forget' to talk to your actual Father in Heaven, the God of the world you live in every single day, your creator? How can you walk around all day without constantly thinking of him? 

And that's when it hit me. The world can be very very distracting. We find ourselves putting our time and energy into things that, in the big picture, matter so little - or not at all! I'm not saying the whole world is a big bad bag of sin (actually it is...but lets talk about that a different time...). What I'm saying is that we can so easily get our priorities flip turned upside down. Those moments when we can, and should, turn to God, we turn to things of the world. 

When you wake up? What's the first thing you think of? What's the first thing you do? Do you wake up, grab your phone, then head to the toilet and scroll through the gram? Or do you pray first? When life hands you rotten, worm-filled lemons, what's the first thing you do? Do you text 3 of your closest friends and tweet about it, or do you pray to find strength and patience in this day?

I've been thinking about prayer a lot, and I've been making an effort to pray more, to talk to my Heavenly Father more. Whether it's asking for something, thanking him for the wonderful husband I've been blessed with, or just kind of getting something out of my system, I've been trying to pray more. And let me tell you, with every prayer, I feel closer to God.

My challenge for you is to do the same. Talk to him. No matter what set of beliefs you live by, or what religion you belong to, pray.  I believe we are all God's children, and we are all able to communicate with him any time of any day. So take advantage of that! Strengthen your connection with him. He's real, and he's there. I promise. 

10 comments

  1. Wow, thank you for this post. I have recently taken a break from Instagram in order to take more time to grow my spirituality. I want to pray constantly as Jesus did. Amen on this post!

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  2. I totally grab my phone, head for the toilet, and check out the gram…hahaha. Thank you for your post! It was a great reminder about where my priority should lie.

    xoxo, kiely

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  3. We talked about prayer yesterday in Relief Society and I was having a really hard time pulling anything out of the lesson. This however was a smack on the head. Thanks for making me realize the importance of prayer in my life and how grateful I should be for it and the opportunity I get to communicate with God on a regular basis. I gotta step up my prayer game!

    And seriously, that oatmeal looks divine.

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  4. Wow what a great reminder. I've been trying to be better about not grabbing my phone first when I wake up and when things get hard. I try to remind myself I need to say a quick prayer first. Sadly I'm not as good at this as I'd like. Thank you so much for the reminder!

    P.S. That oatmeal looks delicious!

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  5. love this. also I want that recipe.

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  6. This is a wonderful reminder, and something that I feel I am always working on :) Thank you!!

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  7. Thank you for the reminder! It's unfortunate how quickly I am to forget prayer, but it's something that I've been working on. <3

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  8. la la la love it!!
    love you
    want that oatmeal

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