Question
Gramps,
If i prayed to become taller, and I was keeping my covenants and doing my part of being obedient to his commandments, If i tried hard enough by training and exercising would God make me taller if I did my part?
Tony
Answer
Tony,
In our scriptures, we have the following verses of scripture to help us understand the purpose of prayer, and which hopefully will help you increase in wisdom pertaining to our personal prayers:
Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth. Mormon 9:21
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7:7
Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you. 1 Nephi 15:11
But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; D&C 46:7
And the Lord said unto me: John, my beloved, what desirest thou? For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you. D&C 7:1
In light of your question, would it be wrong to ask God the Father to be taller (assuming I am keeping all the commandments and being obedient)? I personally feel we can approach our Heavenly Father for anything; although, when we ask please take these verses of scripture and quote into account also:
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: (emphasis mine) 1 John 5:14
Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; (emphasis mine) 2 Nephi 4:35
And it shall come to pass that he that asketh in Spirit shall receive in Spirit…
He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh. (emphasis mine) D&C 46:28,30
“As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” (emphasis mine) Bible Dictionary
Tony, asking Heavenly Father to be taller isn’t wrong, what you have to determine is if this would be proper for you to ask, or if you were to really soul search do you think this is the “will of God” for Tony? It doesn’t hurt to ask, but should you ask, remember even if you are shorter (like myself) it is OK. Our height will not remove spiritual blessings from us :). Now, if you happen to play basketball or volleyball, it would be nice at times if these prayers were answered, but the chances are probably slim. Also keep in mind that genetics have a significant play in how tall you will be at adulthood as well.
Gramps
