After watching this video last night, I've been thinking about how we need to learn how to hear God's answers to our prayers. When I was young, I used to expect some voice to just tell me what to do, or magically all my problems would just be solved without any effort on my part. When that didn't happen, I thought my prayers weren't being answered, but I was wrong. It took decades of painful struggling for me to finally recognize all the personal help the Lord had, and was, giving me.
Eliminate Distractions
I've learned that I have to prepare to receive God's help in my life. If my mind is a jumble of blaring amoral media, frantic busyness, overwhelming worries, and my own arrogant pride and selfishness, then the still small voice of the Spirit will be drowned out. As the Lord has counseled us, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). Praying, reading the scriptures, meditating, living God's commandments, and serving others has helped to quiet my mind and center my focus on what is really important to me. Now what?
Be Willing to Learn
I also have to be in the right frame of mind. If I'm trying to test the Lord, demanding that He immediately give me what I want, or "I'll not believe in Him", then the heavens will remain silent. I've experienced this in my own life. As a parent, I don't respond to a child if they come to me demanding what they want "right now", but I will do all I can to help them if they ask politely and are willing to listen and follow my advice. Yes, when I've already decided that I know best and just want the Lord to give it to me now, it has never worked. Now, I can see how immature I was being. I didn't want God's help, I just wanted to be given what I wanted-- immediately. When I am ready to learn and to follow the advice I receive from God, only then, do I receive help. If I am unwilling to follow that advice, I don't receive more. Simple as that. As I recognize His help, am grateful for it, and follow it, I receive more help.
Recognize the Personal Help God Sends
It is a good start to quiet your life, to focus on what is eternally important such as your family, and to be willing to learn, but if you are expecting a voice from heaven to give you the answer to your prayers on demand, you will be disappointed. Then how will my prayers be answered? When you begin to look for answers you will find them. Once you get out of the small box which requires God to speak to you in a voice you hear, you will discover answers given in ways that are personal and meaningful to you.
As a song writer, Michael Mclean (see the video), received the help he needed in inspiration for song writing. As an intellectual writer type, Heavenly Father sends help to me in special ways. I have gone to the library and found a book that was just what I needed on an empty shelf completely out of its section. I'll turn on my computer and somehow an article or book is there which is just what I need at that moment. I suspect that God doesn't communicate with most people this way, but it shows me that He knows and understands me completely.
God usually communicates through thoughts and feelings
Most of the time God communicates to us through thoughts and feelings. I find that I am more receptive as I am waking up in the mornings. I've learned to listen to the thoughts and feelings that come to me at this time. Often when you have thought out a problem and then ask God, in prayer, if your decision is right, you will either get a feeling of peace and know that this decision is right, or you will have a dark, uneasy feeling about it so that you know that this is the wrong decision for you, at least at this time. Sometimes the Lord is trying to build your confidence in yourself, so He may not answer you right then, but instead requires you to act on your decision. As you act on your decision, you eventually will know that your decision is right. If you begin going the wrong way, the Lord will tell you, if you are listening.
I had this situation when I had to decide if our four children were all of our family. I knew my health situation and risks. I knew the principles involved. I prayed and never received a strong conformation that my decision was right. I kept watching to see if I received any feeling that my decision was wrong, but it never came, so I proceeded and had the surgery which ended my ability to have children. Right afterwards,
I received a strong feeling of reassurance that I had done the right thing. I was amazed that my Heavenly Father trusted me to make such a major decision.
Consider impressive dreams and clear pictures in your mind My prayers have been answered in many other ways. A few times I've had dreams which told me that something needed to be done. Sometimes, another person just happens to say something I need to hear at that moment, or gives me a call when I need help. Often I receive pictures in my mind that give me the answer to a problem such as seeing the cabinet I was trying to fit into the living room, sitting nicely in a different room.
Once, my husband saw a vision of a particularly dangerous part of the road he would have to travel later that stormy winter night. He had a distinct feeling that he needed to be especially careful at that place on the freeway. It turned out that as he approached that spot, he saw a car in the ditch in the highway divider strip. Pulling off the side of the road so he could offer assistance, he paused and let the traffic pass before crossing. After going only a few steps out onto the freeway, he discovered that the road was covered with slick black ice. If he had rushed across as he usually would have, he probably would have slipped and possibly lost his life.
Look for answers in "coincidences"
Many times I've prayed for help in finding something, and suddenly there it is. At first my husband laughed when I said that we needed to look at yard sales (an impression I had) for windows for our attic, but after we found them, he was amazed. When I said we needed to look for a red metal lamp and for a fan for the attic, he made no protests and just smiled when we quickly found these things at yard sales. Another time we needed to buy a new vehicle. The first lot we went to had just what we wanted, a beautiful lemon yellow pick-up truck. Think of the odds of that!
God allows us to learn from experiences
For years I prayed for help in healing. I frequently collapsed and was barely able to even care for myself. Finally, a few years ago I became seriously ill. It seemed unusual, but I had a peaceful feeling that all was going to be alright. As I became unable to sleep much or keep down much food, my prayers continued. One day I had a very strong feeling that we should go to a town four hours south of where we lived. I thought that maybe taking a break from winter was God's answer and would help get me back on my feet--literally. When we arrived, I immediately started feeling better. I was amazed! The dry climate, lower elevation, plenty of sunshine, little pollution, few pollens, and a laid-back life style all seemed to be just want I needed. I began to feel that I didn't want to return home. Before we left to return to our home in the mountains, we visited our old next-door neighbors who now lived there. The husband looked me in the eye and said, "Cheryl, you need to move down here." It was like he had used a microphone. The words kept repeating over and over in my mind. Each time, I felt more sure that we needed to move here, but how could we? How could we suddenly move? My husband's retirement businesses, our children and grandchildren, our paid-for home, and our friends were all up north. Finally, I got up the courage to tell my husband what I was thinking. His reply? "Sounds right." When he had heard the suggestion, he had a strong feeling that moving was the right thing for us to do. I'm grateful that we were allowed to experience how my health improved in this new area, so that we were prepared to make such a major decision.
Accept the Lord's Timing
Strengthened by knowing that we had both received the same revelation that it was right for us to move, we returned the next week. I had a strong feeling that we needed to find a home within four days. With all my chemical sensitivities, we knew that finding any home that I could live in would be exceptionally difficult, but it happened. On the fourth day, one hour before we were to return to our old home, we found the right home for us. Later, we learned that only a couple of hours after we made our offer, another couple put in a bid for the house. If we can not made our offer within those four days, we would not have been able to buy this home. I can now see that if I hadn't become so ill, we would not have made the trip south which not only has helped to improve my health, but solved several other problems we had, such as allowed my husband to give up his over demanding business so that we could finally live a more relaxed retired lifestyle.
Trust that the Lord knows the "big picture"
Another concern that I had been praying about just before our move was how we could give more support to our daughter's family. She had just had their first long awaited baby, and the baby was struggling. We wanted to give more support, but it was so difficult with my poor health to fight our way for an hour (or more if there was an accident etc.) on a busy freeway to their home, especially in the winter. It did not seem logical that we would be able to give their family more support if we moved another four hours further away from them. Though I was mourning leaving my family, we took the leap of faith and moved anyway. To our surprise, within a year of our move, our daughter and her family moved to a new home only ten minutes away from us. Moving away from our family really was the answer to how to be closer to them and to be able to give them more support. Once again, we saw that the Lord was aware of our needs and the needs of our children and grandchildren. All we had to do to have our prayers answered was to follow each step as it was revealed to us, instead of following our own very limited understanding.
Start Looking
I have been amazed at all the help God has given us. Start looking and listening, and you will find that you have a loving Heavenly Father who is very concerned about you and wants to help you.
https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/his-grace/faith-crisis-what-do-we-do-when-we-feel-nothing
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