God Hears

GOD HEARS ME

One of my favorite primary songs is the one that we sometimes sing in a round. A child begins by asking Heavenly Father if He is really there, and if He really answers every child's prayer. A parent then responds in the affirmative that God is there, and that He does hear our prayers. Sometimes when I am having a difficult day, I find myself singing this song while I drive. As I sing, I am also praying. Whenever I have these moments, this song seems to testify to my heart that He is really there, and He really does hear our prayers.

This past weekend, I went to Featherville, Idaho to prepare for girl's camp and I experienced the reality of God's love and His hand truly taking part in my life. Me, my sister-in-law, and our kids decided to go check out a possible hike location up a mountain on the Gator. We checked the gas gauge before setting out--more than half full--, and we were on our way. We drove up the mountain several miles until we came to a crossroad. We knew there was a trail reaching back to town, and we thought we would take that trail. At this point, we still had plenty of gas to make it down the mountain; however, the new trail we took kept stretching out in front of us with no real end and we began to feel that something was wrong. It was at this point that I happened to look at our gas gauge. My heart clenched a bit as I saw how little gas we had left. We were at least 10 miles away from the beginning of the trail. We knew we had to get down the mountain, but we just didn't know the fastest route--should we keep going and hope we would find the end, or should we turn around. As we were contemplating our course, we came to a dead end. We were on a narrow track high up on the mountain. In order to turn around, we had to make several stops and turns--inching ourselves back and forth--being careful of the mountainside looming before us until we were able to turn the Gator around. When we were finally turned around, the gas gauge began flashing in and out indicating that we had no gas left in the tank. Just ahead and to the right was another trail we had previously passed, we felt that we needed to stop and explore our options on foot in an effort of finding the fastest way down the mountain, so we pulled the Gator to a stop all the while praying that the engine would start again.

The trail was worth the exploration--it proved to be a dead end as well. By exploring it, we were certain as to the direction we needed to go back the way we came in order to get off the mountain. We were nervous of the distance we needed to cover and the lack of gas we had. We asked Hailey to pray prior to attempting to start the Gator. I don't remember the exact wording of Hailey's prayer. I do remember my lack of faith compared to her faith for as she prayed with faith that we would make it off the mountain, I was already preparing my mind for the inevitable hike we were facing. (It's not that I don't have faith that Heavenly Father creates miracles in our lives--I do. I know He does. I believe in Him with all of my heart. With that being said, I also believe that that sometimes the best answers to prayers are those in which we have the opportunity to grow and learn a lesson from our mistakes, and I was gearing myself up for the lesson I was going to inevitably learn.) As soon as Hailey finished her prayer, we started the Gator once again and to our complete shock and utter amazement the gas gauge went from zero to 3 bars of gas. I stared at the gas gauge in disbelief. My sister-in-law quickly put the Gator in gear and started down the mountain while I continued to stare at the gas gauge. I didn't even want to allow myself to hope--I was sure that as soon as I looked away from the gauge, the gas would plummet again and we would be destined to walk. Again..., it's not that I didn't believe in the power of prayer on our behalf--I think I just believed in the power of learning lessons as well.

After a while of staring down the gas gauge, I started to allow my heart to believe that a miracle had just occurred. The gas didn't disappear as I feared--instead it slowly inched down with each passing mile. My heart began to hope and pray for a continued miracle. We still had a huge distance to cover with a limited amount of gas. We didn't stop, but instead we used the momentum of the hill to our advantage. The kids in the back were a bit disgruntled as it wasn't quite a comfortable ride. When there were branches we would give a warning yell, "On your right..." and "Look out for that one...". With a few miles still to go, our gas gauge once again indicated we were out of gas. Still--my faith had been strengthened. I prayed for a continued miracle and my prayers matched the flashing of the gas gauge. The gas gauge flashed that we were completely out of gas for the last 2-3 miles of our journey, and yet... we made it. As soon as we arrived back at the cabin, we unscrewed the lid to the gas tank. We were not surprised to discover it was completely empty. We had experienced a miracle. Heavenly Father heard our prayer and blessed us to get off the mountain.

President Uchtdorf said, "God cares about you, He will listen, He will answer your prayers" (The Love of God, October 2009 General Conference). I have always believed this statement. Just like the primary song I mentioned earlier states when the parent speaks to the child--"Pray, He is there. Speak, He is listening." Every time I have sung those words, I have felt the truth of them in my heart. Every time I pray, I know He is listening. And although I know He is listening when I pray, I have never expected to receive a miracle as we did with the Gator. Most of the time my answers come slow... little by little; however, this prayer was immediate and personal. In general conference, Jaun A Uceda asked, "When you pray, are you really praying or are you just saying your prayers?" ("The Lord Teaches Us to Pray", Jaun A Uceda, October 2016 General Conference). I think this experience reminded me to pray with more faith--believing that with God all things are possible. Making it off that mountain was a message of love from my Heavenly Father to me. There was no other explanation to our arriving back at the cabin than it being a direct answer to prayer. It was as if God was teaching me to trust Him a little bit more, to believe in Him a little bit more, to rely on Him a little bit more. It was a lesson on opening my heart to the possibilities of prayer.

Faith

Failures in Writing

When Nephi and his brethren went to get the plates from Laban, it wasn't until their third attempt that they were successful. Sometimes it is hard to understand why--when we are doing God's will--things are not a bit easier? In the case of Nephi and his brethren, perhaps the failure was part of the process of success. Perhaps the reason Laban was drunk and Nephi was able to slay him was because he was celebrating the fact that he had just stolen a large amount of gold and silver? I don't know this to be true, but what I do know is that when we persevere, the Lord will bless us. Sometimes we may feel as if we fail time and time again, but I would like to assume that that failure was all a part of the process of accomplishing the Lord's designs or the process of our lives being refined.

On Sunday, I fasted for guidance in writing a book. Five years ago, I felt inspired by the Lord to begin the process. For five years, I have felt a great sense of inadequacy, and I have worried that I am failing the Lord.I decided this week to fast for direction (once again) and seek help from the divine source in which the prompting came in the first place. During fast and testimony meeting, Brother Armstrong bore his testimony about Nephi and his brethren failing on multiple occasions while trying to secure the plates. He testified that at times we experience failure, but that it is all a part of the process of reaching our end goal--even when we are inspired by the Lord. As he testified, I felt the spirit speak to my soul. The Lord was pleased with my effort--I just needed to keep pushing forward with trust in Him.

I am so grateful for promptings and the opportunity we have to be refined through our experiences here on earth. Our Heavenly Father truly does know each of us individually. He loves us. He wants us to succeed, and He is sending messages just for us. I know Brother Armstrong's testimony wasn't a coincidence. I know it was for me from the Lord. I am so grateful.

Daily Reflections~Day 3

While searching through my Family Search temple name file, I noticed I was missing a few cards that I had already printed. Realizing I had lost the cards--I immediately began searching for the lost cards. My girls and I searched for quite some time before I ceased the search. Each of us said a personal prayer, and continued with our normal activities. While cleaning the house, an impression came to my mind as to where I could find the cards. The impression was so distinct that I was absolutely positive that the cards would be in the place the impression revealed. When I arrived at the location, my heart was relieved to have found the lost cards.

I have no doubt that God hears our prayers. He guides us and directs us today. He sends us messages--sometimes through impressions, sometimes through other people, sometimes through the scriptures, sometimes through latter-day prophets--no matter the means through which He communicates--I am grateful to know that He does! 

Daily Reflections~Day 1

As I have been studying my lesson on Jesus' miracles, I have reflected on the day to day miracles in my own life. While in contemplation, I received a phone call from my husband expressing frustration concerning our car. Our car needed an emissions test completed; however, due to the engine light continuously manifesting itself, we hadn't yet accomplished the task of an emissions test. We knew that if the engine light was manifested, the car would fail the test. In the past, we have had the car tested on numerous occasions, and we have learned that the light is faulty. Yesterday, the light turned off, and so we were planning on completing the emissions test today; however, when Bryan was ready to take the car to be tested, the light returned to activity. He did everything he could to fix the faulty light, but to no avail. As he was telling me his frustrations, I explained my lesson, and suggested that we pray.

As I kneeled to pray, I explained to Heavenly Father how I realized that the matter of our car was a small and trivial concern; however, I explained how important it was to us to receive the test, and comply with the state laws. For some reason during my prayer, I felt emotional throughout my explanation. I felt that Heavenly Father was hearing my prayer over my car, so I continued to pray about the more important matters of my family. I felt peace and love wash over me as I communicated with my Father in Heaven. When I closed my prayer, I felt a sense of gratitude for the love of a Father in Heaven. Later that day I received a text from my husband stating, "You are the Woman." Meaning: the Check Engine Soon light had turned off on the car.

I know that God hears and answers our prayers. I know that He hears us even in the smallest details. Sometimes our prayers are not always answered in the way we would hope; however, in those moments, it is up to us to trust in God's design rather than our own. In moments where our prayers are answered directly and immediately, I stand in solemn gratitude and awe at a loving Father in Heaven.

Primary Program and Testimony Meeting

Amber’s Testimony

Amber played in the primary program to accompany the Activity Day girls. She accidentally played the introduction toward the end of the song. However, despite her fumble, she kept playing; however, she was totally heartbroken. Bryan and I kept giving her the thumbs up sign throughout the rest of the program, but she couldn't seem to get control of her tears. (She is a bit of a perfectionist.) After the program, the ward members congratulated her over and over and over and over and over again... She heard time and time again how spiritual her playing the piano made the meeting. She was given notes after primary congratulating her on a job well done. One note read, "I felt the spirit when Amber had the courage to continue playing the piano. I felt her playing was beautiful!" Another person wrote that their favorite song was the song Amber played, because Amber did such a great job on the piano. telling her how amazing her playing was, and how much it touched those present. 

Today, during testimony meeting, Amber got up and bore testimony of the power of prayer. Her voice cracked as she explained that she prayed during the primary program--after making a mistake on the piano, that she could feel peace. She explained that after the program, the ward members came to her rescue by congratulating her, and encouraging her. She bore testimony that she knew that the ward members were an answer to her prayers. 

When Amber finished bearing testimony about the power of prayer, a sister from our ward bore testimony about the power of prayer and Amber being an answer to her prayer. In last month's testimony meeting, Amber bore testimony that priesthood blessings can answer prayers--she had already shared this experience in a past testimony meeting, so I was somewhat surprised when she shared it again; however, I kept my surprise to myself, and I am so glad that I did. Sister Eldredge stood up and bore testimony that Amber's testimony last month was an answer to her prayers. She had been praying for guidance, and much needed direction when Amber's testimony of the power of priesthood blessings entered her mind. Feeling it to be an answer to her prayer, she chose to receive a priesthood blessing, which she felt helped her to make a needed decision in her life.

Heavenly Father truly is aware of each of us. He loves us and He desires to send us blessings. If we can be in tune with the Spirit, we can be an answer to someone else's prayer. The ward member's were an answer to Amber's prayer, and Amber was the answer to Sister Eldredge's prayer. After church I asked Amber about baring her testimony the previous month, and she said she was just so impressed to say what she did.