Mosiah 29:20

"But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him."
Mosiah 29:20


So, I was just reading along this morning and this scripture kind of jumped out at me.  I've read it many times before, but never really looked at it closely.  It's very interesting.  God delivers us when we do some specific things.
1. Humble ourselves, meaning (I think) that we have to recognize that we need him. :)  So often we forget to call on God because we think we are doing fine alone... and we don't remember all the times that he has bailed us out, until we need bailing out again. 
2. We cry unto him mightily, meaning that we need to ask for help... from him.  And then the scripture goes on to talk about how God offers mercy to those that put their trust in him.  It reminds me of "a broken heart and a contrite spirit" ... it seems to be basically the same thing, just explained differently.  To get help from God, we have to not only recognize that we need God, but we also have to ask him for help.  This is sometimes difficult for us, just as it is hard for us sometimes to ask for help from our earthly parents, or friends.  We can recognize the need for the help, but it is still hard to make the call and beg for whatever help it is that we need.  We want to be independent, we want to be able to make it on our own, and not ask them for anything... but sometimes we need to, here, and with our Heavenly Father.  Just like our Earthly parents, our Father in Heaven is eager to help, to do what he can to bail us out... without making us dependent upon him forever.  He lifts us up to once again stand on our feet, and to learn to walk without assistance.  But he is always always there, beside us when we start to fall.  And, as little children, we do need an awful lot of help and guidance as we learn and grow.  In fact, there is no way that we can make it through this world without him... we need him like we need air.  But we never have to worry that he is trying to steal our independence... just like any good parent, he wants our love and appreciation... but he also wants us to build our self-confidence and learn to exercise our talents and abilities.  He wants to be there, to support us and to walk beside us, not to make us into little robots. :)  So today... let's recognize our dependence on God.  Recognize that we need him... ask him to help us, and then let him help us stand up and walk with confidence, knowing that he is beside us.