Does God Really Hear My Prayers?
I Feel My Saviors Love - Greg Olsen
Personal Response by Natalie
Yes! He really does. I have felt the powerful assurance that God does hear my prayers many times in my life. I know that the Savior’s message, recorded in the New Testament, still rings true: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7).
Last summer I was preparing to begin my first year at Brigham Young University. As it got closer to the time that I had to move out, I began to get really nervous. I worried about who my roommates would be, how hard my classes would be, and how difficult living away from home for the first time would be. I remember one night being particularly worried and stressed about everything. In tears, I knelt next to my bed and prayed to my Father in Heaven that He would fill me with comfort. Almost immediately I felt a calm assurance wash over me and I knew my prayer had been answered. I knew that the Lord knew me and loved me and that I had nothing to fear. As I continued to look forward to starting the new semester, the words of this scripture went through my mind “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36). This too, was a simple, peaceful reminder from a loving Heavenly Father that everything would be okay.
A couple of weeks ago I had another powerful experience with prayer. I had been going through a rough week-I had just finished an anatomy midterm, a difficult physics exam was coming up, final exams were in one week, and I had just had a bad break-up. To make it all worse, my family was gone on a vacation at the time and I was home alone. I felt depressed, discouraged, and very alone. I felt incapable and unloved. Again, I turned to prayer. I pleaded with Heavenly Father that He take away some of the hurt and sadness I was feeling. I pleaded also that my mind would be clear to concentrate on my test. At first I felt that God had not heard me or didn’t care because I did not feel better immediately. But I was very wrong! Not long after I got a phone call from my older brother, who was living in an apartment about twenty minutes away from my house. He asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner with him. Although to someone else this may have seemed random, I knew it was not. I knew that it was an answer to my prayer. It was exactly what I needed right at that moment-a kind older brother to talk to and joke around with. I knew that the Lord hadn’t forgotten me.
These are just two of many experiences I have had when God has answered my prayers. Sometimes answers come just as simple feelings of comfort or peace, and sometimes other people enter my life at just the right time. Frequently I will pull out a post-it note and jot down all the ways that God has answered my prayers in the last few weeks. I have a lot of sticky notes all over my room with answers and assurances that God cares. Some instances are large, and some are small: feeling comfort when my friend’s mom died, help on a hard Chemistry test, not getting sick when everyone around me was, flying overseas safely. The list continues to grow. As I reflect on these lists and continue to pray, I understand more and more that God really does love us and care for us. He knows our needs and hears our prayers.
Tags: Comfort, Mormon Beliefs, peace, Prayer
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 11:03 am and is filed under Mormon Beliefs, Prayer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.