Sometimes when it seems like God is silent, we need only to be patient, and we will see his hand in our lives.
“Are you there, God? It’s me, Mackenzie.” “Heavenly Father, are you really there? And are you hearing and answering my
Photo by Carli.
prayers?” I know I’m not the only one who has asked God these questions, often through tears. During the decade of decisions, it’s easy to feel lost and even abandoned by God. In his BYU–Hawaii devotional titled “Bread or Stones: Understanding the God We Pray to,” S. Michael Wilcox shares four insights to help us when we feel that our prayers are falling on deaf ears.
- We worship a fourth-watch God (Mark 6). Sometimes we just need to toil a little longer before God gives us relief from a trial or gives us an answer to a question. While we wait and toil, we learn and grow.
- Our ship is tight like unto a dish (Ether 2:17). God may seem like he is withholding relief even in the fourth watch, but maybe we are better equipped to handle the trial than we think.
- God gives only bread, never stones (Luke 11:9-13). What may seem like a trial now, may end up being a blessing. The perspective that God gives us only bread, not stones, can lead us to the inspiration we need.
- God waits for holding places in our hearts (Doctrine and Covenants 98:1-3). Sometimes God has answers for us, but we’re just not ready to hear them yet. If we keep asking and searching, our experiences will make a place in our heart where the revelation can flow in.
God does “answer every child’s prayer.” By understanding how our Heavenly Father teaches and loves us, we can better understand how his answers come.
Read more Read or watch S. Michael Wilcox’s inspiring devotional about how God watches over us during trials and answers our prayers, even when he seems absent.
Source: BYU–Hawaii Speeches
—Mackenzie Sinclair Brady, Mormon Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY MADEREBNER
Find more insights
Explore more about the nature of God by reading “What Is the Nature of God.”
Discover how patience is “a key to happiness” in this talk by Joseph B. Wirthlin.
Listen to Laura Story explain the inspiration behind her song “Blessings.”