3 Nephi 19:24

And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the Father, he came unto his disciples, and behold, they did still continue, without ceasing, to pray unto him; and they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire.

As part of our prayer practice, we too can ask what to pray for. The purpose of prayer is not to convince God to do our bidding but to align ourselves with his will and to access blessings that he is already willing to give us but which are predicated on our asking. Thus, praying for what to pray for is a useful exercise. What the natural man thinks we need and what God knows we need are diametrically opposing views of us. The key to a successful life s to overcome the natural man and accept the will of God. Prayer holds that key for us.

Alma 55:31

But behold, the Nephites were not slow to remember the Lord their God in this their time of affliction. They could not be taken in their snares; yea, they would not partake of their wine, save they had first given to some of the Lamanite prisoners.

When we remember God in our afflictions, then those afflictions are a blessing to us. Everyone has afflictions. The difference is how we respond to them. God's purpose in allowing affliction is to draw us to him and give us a weight against which our faith can push to build strength. The natural man wants to avoid all affliction and live a life of ease, but he is always frustrated, for comfort is not the goal of mortality. If we embrace the natural man, we curse God for our trials. On the other hand, if we embrace God and his will, though we will still have trials, the outcome will be to our eternal advantage and glory.

Alma 51:21

And thus Moroni put an end to those king-men, that there were not any known by the appellation of king-men; and thus he put an end to the stubbornness and the pride of those people who professed the blood of nobility; but they were brought down to humble themselves like unto their brethren, and to fight valiantly for their freedom from bondage.

Before we can do battle without, we must win the battle within. We must conquer ourselves and put down the natural man and his pride. Satan doesn't usually have to mount an all-out attack from the outside because he knows he has a strong and treacherous ally already on the inside. He just needs to stir up the natural man from time to time. Our internal enemy makes enough commotion to keep us occupied, distracted, and off balance almost all the time. He is well ensconced within us, and we lack sufficient power on our own to dislodge him from his strongholds. We may be able to harass him, but we cannot win without a strategy and additional power. Christ and his atonement are the reinforcements we need, and the Holy Ghost conveys the strategy from headquarters. The battle plans are in the scriptures. If we obey our captains, the living prophets, we can overcome and force the natural man to surrender. But we must be diligent and faithful.

Alma 46:7

And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they dissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great victory which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of their deliverance by the hand of the Lord.

We must be constantly vigilant that we do not let pride overtake us. When things go well, it is easy to take our blessings for granted and think that we somehow manufactured them on our own or that we are entitled to them. The natural man is cunning and stealthy. He will hide in the background of our minds until just the right moment, and then he will whisper in our ear, even as we are praising God, "Look at what we did. We're awesome! Let's celebrate our great achievement, and then let's just admire ourselves for a while. We worked hard and we earned it. Right?" He is insidious, and he never rests. We must watch for him and throw him out at any moment. Otherwise we will start to believe our own press clippings, and that leads only to disaster.

Mosiah 21:8

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did beat them, and drove them back, and slew many of them.

Just like the people of Limhi tried to fight their way out of their captivity using only their own power, we often try to "fix" ourselves using sheer grit and determination. Resistance against the natural man without the help of God, however, is futile. The spirit may be willing but the flesh is always weak. We must rely on Christ's grace--his enabling power. He is the only way!

Enos 1:2

And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.

Note that Enos did not say he wrestled with the Lord but before the Lord. His wrestle was with himself, his sins and the natural man. We do not have to wrestle with Christ to get him to forgive our sins. He is ready and willing at any moment to forgive us, redeem us, and reconcile us with God. The work is already done. We just have to wrestle ourselves away from sin.