“Pray for what you want but work for what you need”

The informants mother constantly tells her this, and she says that it has followed her from childhood and it is something she still uses today. The phrase promotes appreciating the things you can work for like food and shelter, while seeing everything else as something extra. It is okay to have desires, but if you’re constantly working for something better and bigger you’ll never be satisfied. By combining praying and working the phrase puts equal responsibility on the individual as well as the God that they are praying to. God can’t provide everything, but if you work hard for what you need he may reward you with the things you want.