More Pancakes Please! How NOT to ask for what you want.

In the past, one of my biggest stumbling blocks to utilizing the Law of Attraction and similar approaches to life has been my being confounded about how to ask for what I need.  I don't mean asking others for help, I mean asking God - or the Universe - or whatever you appeal to when you are reaching beyond yourself for guidance, inspiration and help.

I've always been good at prayer. I pray throughout the day, every day. I am good at being grateful and thanking God for my blessings (or at least I thought I was). I am good at thinking about others' needs and asking God for His grace to help them. I am great at asking for general things like strength, guidance, inspiration, and peace. However, when it comes to things I really need, I have always struggled with the ability to ask for them.

I would second guess myself (do I REALLY need that?). I try to look for ways around really asking ("if it is in your plan God").  I would start to feel like I was begging and nagging because I would assert my request everyday ("please...please!"). Then, of course, when what I asked for didn't materialize relatively quickly, I felt like there was a clear answer to my request ("Not this time dear...you have lessons to learn so I am not going to give you what you think you need right now. Use this struggle to grow stronger and gather more insight.") This is the way it has gone for me and the way I have interpreted my life events.

This time around I am going about the whole asking/thanking/praying thing just a bit differently, and it is making all the difference.

The "experts" say ask once and then just be thankful that whatever you asked for is on its way. This was a little --correction: a LOT --awkward for me.  Then I started thinking about pancakes.

Almost every weekend I make pancakes for my kids.  With only one decent pan, a small stove, and four kids, I can never quite keep up with the speed they are devoured. Every weekend my kids gobble up one and then say "More pancakes please!!!" I say "I am already making them." Then another "More pancakes please!!!!" Nothing makes me crazier and I say "I know! You know I know you want more pancakes! I am already making them. Just be patient!" But it never fails, the next kid inhales a pancake and immediately shouts "More pancakes please!" I start to feel very irritated. They know I always make enough pancakes. They know I can only go so fast. I start to feel they are really ungrateful because instead of being thankful that I am busting my chops getting the pancakes on the table, they are just dissatisfied that I am not quick enough to produce a stack of hot, fresh pancakes all at once the second they are ready for them.

LIGHTBULB!

OK - so God knows what I need. By working myself into a guilty, nagging, frenzy asking over and over and dwelling on what I don't have and what I think I need, I prohibit myself from being truly grateful, from being patient that good things are coming into my life daily, and observant enough to see the path being laid before me.

So try it. Ask once. Trust that what you need is coming. Recognize the gifts that fill your life. Be thankful for the opportunities, connections, and insights that are being laid before you daily which will help you achieve what you want and what you need for your life.