Sometimes praying can be frustrating, especially when I do not understand how God works. “What do you want?” is the consistent question I kept getting in response to my prayers when I was asking for help to know what I was supposed to do. I was confused by this response, and so I talked about it with a few other people. Surprisingly to me, I learned there were others being asked the same thing in response to their prayers.
“What do you want?” This question has forced me to evaluate my view of myself and of God. It has led me, though, to understand more about the significance of agency, hard work, and individuality, as well as more about God. This question causes me now to think of some of the following things:
God is Not a Genie in a Lamp
As I reflected on my prayers and what I was seeking when I prayed, I began to realize that many of my requests in prayer were similar to asking for wishes to be granted from a genie in a lamp.
For example:
“Please bless this food to nourish and strengthen my body,” even though I was about to eat junk food.
“Please bless me with health and strength,” even though I hadn’t been exercising.
“Please help me to be safe,” even though I hadn’t done anything to improve my own safety.
“Please help me to find a good job,” even though I wasn’t actively pursuing any new skills and hadn’t for a few years.
“Please tell me what I should do with my life,” even though I wasn’t following direction that had been given, such as sharing the Gospel, ministering to the sick and afflicted, or even keeping a journal.
When God asked me “What do you want?”, it forced me to stop and think about what my prayers were reflecting about me. I realized that many of my prayers were asking for a wish to be granted, where I could have something without working for it. Or, to put it another way, I wanted a magic carpet to take me to health, for example, without going on the journey or putting in the work to get there.
Life is a Journey
Our time on this earth is a journey. We are headed somewhere, even if we have no idea where that is. Every day we meander through 24 hours of time. We may watch a show, work in exchange for pay, spend time with family or a friend, develop a skill, etc. We are so rich that we have countless ways to spend our time. YouTube alone has billions of choices for how to spend our time.
Each choice we make about how to spend our time is a step in our journey. When God asked me “what do you want?”, I realized that He was asking me where I was heading. What goals did I have? What direction did my choices reflect about what I wanted inside? What was I doing with what God had given me?
Ultimately, “what do you want?” is synonymous with “where are you traveling to?” Our desired destination determines the path we travel, and not having a desired destination leaves us wandering in circles, where we often find ourselves asking God for fulfillment as we wander aimlessly.
God Has Already Given Many Gifts
I remember praying once that I could get better so that I wouldn’t have to go to the doctor. Another time I also prayed that my car wouldn’t break down so that I would not have to take it to the mechanic and spend money I was trying to save for other things.
We live in a day and age when information is readily available, when solutions are readily available, and where many things can be fixed if we invest some time and money. Yet, many of us do not take the time to learn the information or pursue the opportunities that are there. We pray that God will give us answers or solutions, even though the answers or solutions have already been given.
In a world full of riches, knowledge, time, and other opportunities, what does our use of those riches, knowledge, time, or other opportunities say about what we want? If we truly want something, how much time and effort are we putting into it? How much are we learning about it? What do we cut out of our life that keeps us from the things that we want most?
In a world such as ours, where we have significant amounts of time to spend on entertainment, sports, leisure, etc., our use of time becomes a significant measure of the level of commitment we have to something. If we don’t do the work for it, why should we expect God to care about something that we don’t fully care about ourselves?
God Wants Me to Pursue Good Things That I Care About
I fully believe that we have callings, missions, or purposes that are given to us by the Divine. We are not just here without a purpose. When we seek to understand what the purpose is, God may ask us first to do something that we care about that is good for others or the world around us.
Our world today is full of problems. Do we really need God to spell everything out for us? Can we not pick a problem and do something about it? I do not believe that God wants robots as subjects who respond to His every command. Rather, I believe that God wants us to experience the true measure of life, the measure that can only be experienced when we choose to do something.
Picking a goal and working towards it brings fulfillment. It shapes us and helps us to become creators ourselves. God doesn’t want to do everything for us, like a genie, He wants us to become like Him. God acts and is not acted upon. He sees a need and does something about it. He creates worlds without end without being asked or commanded to do so.
If I want to become like God, I must learn to act, to create, to shape the world around me. God is not a genie in a lamp, He is a living, loving being that wants me to experience what He has. Because of that, He lets me choose something, He lets me work on it, and He lets me experience the joy and fulfillment that comes from having set a goal and having worked to accomplish it.
God has given me riches that haven’t existed for most of the world’s existence. He has given me time and talents. What am I choosing to do with them? The answer to that likely is found in what I truly want.
Work is a Part of Our Journey
Ultimately, I think that one thing I am learning is that God doesn’t save us from work. God blesses us with great miracles, but He expects us to do our share as well. Work is a refining gift that helps us cut out the things that detract us from the things we really desire. Work forces us to decide what we really want, as it is the act that shows what we care most about.
If I am not willing to work for something, perhaps it isn’t honest for me to expect God to give it to me. Work is a means that we cannot skip in pursuing the things that we really desire or want the most. Praying to avoid the work required to achieve what we want is like praying for a magic carpet to help us avoid the journey to the place we most want to be.
The Servant
In the Book of Mormon, there is an allegory about an orchard or vineyard that produced good fruit for a time. Eventually though, the vineyard became fully corrupted and only produced bad fruit. The Lord of the vineyard is saddened by the loss of the good fruit and discusses burning the vineyard with His servant.
Prior to God asking me what I wanted, I had never really understood how the next part of this allegory plays out. After discussing burning the vineyard, the Lord of the vineyard wept and asked His servant “What could I have done more for my vineyard?” Jacob 5:41, 49.
God is all-powerful, which made that question hard for me to understand. Why was God sad and asking what else He could have done? Did that infer that there was some type of limit on His power? Is evil simply something that God cries about, but doesn’t know what to do with it?
“What do you want?” This repeated question as I prayed caused me to see this exchange with God and His servant differently. When God asked His servant “What could I have done more for my vineyard?”, I realized He was asking His servant “What else do you need me to do to change the world? I have given you riches, I have given you talents, I have given you time, what else do you really need?”
The servant, after having God ask, “What could I have done more?”, and after reflecting on it, responded with: “Spare it a little longer.” Jacob 5:50.
The servant realized, I think, that God had already given Him what was necessary to improve the vineyard. The servant also realized, I think, that He had not fully put his work and effort into the vineyard, so the servant prayed for more time, and then went forward with a renewed commitment to put the servant’s time, talents, and efforts into making the vineyard good.
Maybe God Has Already Given What Is Needed
What if God already gave you the answer to your prayers? What if the answer is found in pursuing something good that helps to shape our world? What if the answer lives in you?
In a world of a billion choices, what do we choose? We choose that which we desire most. If I truly want health, I will eat healthy and exercise. If I truly want a purpose, I will work to achieve that purpose. If I want money, I will work for it. If I want knowledge, I will pursue it.
We have many things to choose from. Are we choosing the better part? Are we living up to the potential that we have, based on what God has already given us?
To me, when I hear the Spirit of God whisper to me “what do you want?”, I realize that there are still things to cut out of my life, things to change, and goals to set and pursue. God has given me everything necessary to accomplish many things, and it is now my turn to pursue those.
Perhaps my prayers will be better answered by praying for a greater resolve to do or be good, a greater motivation to work, or an increased desire to do something about the problems I see in the world.
M. Russell Ballard, an Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has stated:
“Praying for justice, peace, the poor, and the sick is often not enough. After we kneel in prayer, we need to get up from our knees and do what we can to help—to help both ourselves and others.” Watch Ye Therefore, and Pray Always, M. Russell Ballard, October 2020.
To me, true faith is believing enough to ask, but then going to work and making use of what God has already given to us and those around us.
When we do our part, I believe that God will then do His. As He has given us much to start with, it may be up to us, at times, to pick a direction and do something good with what we have been given. In other words, to become agents and act to bring about good with the time, talents, resources, and opportunities available to us.
I am Austin Hepworth, and I believe that God has given us many things that we can use to change our world, for good. Let's work together to make good a reality and address many of the problems of our day. If we want good, are we willing to work for it?
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