After three unsuccessful attempts to free themselves from bondage, King Limhi and his people hit a low point. Recognizing their inability to set themselves free, they “did humble themselves even to the dust” (Mosiah 21:31), submitting willingly to the demands and even the abuses of their captors. This was not hopelessness; it was a recognition of their own limitations, coupled with faith in God.
Mormon tells us that God was “slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities.” But he adds:
Nevertheless, the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.
And it came to pass that they began to prosper by degrees.
Mosiah 21:15-16
We know that blessings often come in unpredictable ways, so it’s important to keep an open mind about how God may answer our prayers. In this passage, we also learn something else: God’s blessings often come incrementally. Instead of delivering us all at once, God may bless us a little at a time: “by degrees.” The implications is that if we are looking for the big, dramatic blessing, we may miss the numerous small ones that come along the way.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson said:
Asking for and receiving daily bread at God’s hand plays a vital part in learning to trust Him and in enduring life’s challenges. We also need a daily portion of divine bread to become what we must become. To repent, improve, and eventually reach “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13) is a step-by-step process. Incorporating new and wholesome habits into our character or overcoming bad habits or addictions often means an effort today followed by another tomorrow and then another, perhaps for many days, even months and years, until we achieve victory. But we can do it because we can appeal to God for our daily bread, for the help we need each day.
“Recognizing God’s Hand in Our Daily Blessings,” General Conference, January 2012
Today, I will watch for incremental answers to my prayers. I will pay attention to the ways that God is blessing me “by degrees,” and I will be grateful for His ongoing support.
I’ve been studying this morning in a bit more depth the CFM for this past week and specifically to “prosper by degrees” and your blog was the first thing to pop up via Google so here I am. I really liked what you’ve written re: daily habits, continued attempts to change on a daily basis, and especially, our being blessed by God in degrees and looking for those.
Thanks for the comment! I’m glad you found the post and that it was useful to you!