The Line Between the Lord's Will and Our Efforts

I regularly ponder the Lord's admonition to "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7) How can the Lord give such direction so freely? Of course, there is some qualification to this promise as described in 3 Nephi. "And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you."

We have to ask for the "right" things. I think this is the part I often struggle with. I tend to be unsure exactly what I should be asking for. I want to ask for what is right, but sometimes get confused. The scriptures have been a great source of helping me overcome that confusion.

In 1 Nephi chapter 17, the Lord wakes Nephi and tells him to arise and go to the mountain. Nephi goes and cries to the Lord seeking further instruction. The Lord tells Nephi to build a ship after the manner that He would show him. Nephi responds, "Whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown me?"

What a response! Nephi was ready to do all of the work, he just asked for a piece of knowledge. Knowledge of where to go to get the ore, to make the tools, to do the work. What if Nephi had just asked the Lord to give him tools? He knew God could provide them. How often do we just ask for the tools, and "skip" a step, asking for something that would excuse ourselves from doing all of the work?

In verse 8, the Lord tells Nephi to build the ship..."that I may carry thy people across these waters." Nephi needed to build the ship in order for the Lord to be able to carry them across the water. Is the Lord able to build a ship? Of course, and Nephi knew it. Regardless of the Lord being able, and regardless of Nephi knowing the Lord was able, the Lord still instructed Nephi to do the building. So that He, the Lord, could bring them across the great waters.

This scenario further defines the point at which our efforts/faith and the Lord's will/power meet. I am beginning to believe it is further away from us that we think. There is more required of me than I often realize.

We cannot just sit there in our families or Ward Councils and hope that people will be saved. It requires hard work and consistent stretching faith to bring about the miracles we desire. Consider the faith Nephi was exercising day after day as he built that ship, the hard labor it required. Only following that exertion would the Lord carry them to where they needed to go.

What is our ship? What is the Lord waiting for us to build so that He can begin to carry us where we need to go? What should we be asking for in the meantime? We certainly should not be asking for the ship.