Relief Society Lesson

I got the priviledge of teaching relief society this last Sunday.  The topic was prayer.  I learned so much- isn't that the way it always works when you teach.  I loved studying how the Lord has answered the prayers of various prophets from the book of Mormon.  My favorite being the Brother of Jared.  He truly had a relationship with the Lord through his prayer.  One of the scriptures that I read, really stood out to me however. There is a section in Alma 34: 21-29 where he talks about what we should pray for, and how our hearts should be continuously poured out unto the Lord for our welfare and the welfare of others.  But then he takes it a step further, he states in verse 29 that if we do not reach out to the needy, and give of our substance, then our prayers availath us nothing and are in vain. We are as hypocrites, because we come begging of the Lord expecting him to give to us, but yet we can't give to those who ask of us.  Again a similar theme and lesson to the things I have been prompted by the spirit in recently.  I never thought I had a hard time sharing of my substance, but I think the Lord is asking me to share even more.  That is hard sometimes when our own budget and bank accounts are so sparse.  However, like I learned from Alma, if we give and serve and share with those less fortunate, our own endevors will be blessed. I actually can testify of this, because I know that when I am taking meals to people, it never seems to adversely affect my budget numbers.  The Lord is truly good to us, and what a wise parent he is as he taches us these princeples of how blessings are given, and helps us to understand charity even more.  Once again I am so indebted to him for everything. How can I not too give.
A.C.T. Once again, i will strive to pray regularly to know how I can help answer other people's prayers. I will look for more opportunities to share of my substance.  I think I will do a DI run this week, but instead of giving only what is broken or beyond repair, I will take some of the nicer things that we never use.