Our Heavenly Father guides us with perfect wisdom and has set up a way for us to find guidance and answers through the gift of prayer.
How do we recognize God’s guidance when we need help navigating life’s decisions or struggles? In his general conference address “Learning to Recognize Answers to Prayer,” Elder Richard G. Scott explains a five-step process that can help us find divine direction:
- Learn the true role of prayer. Prayer is a sacred way to communicate with our Heavenly Father. Its role in helping us relies on our willingness to act on the answers he gives us.
- Express your feelings sincerely. We don’t need to worry if our prayer sounds clumsy. God hears every prayer.
- Learn to recognize answers. Sometimes the answer is yes, which assures us; other times, it’s no, which helps us avoid pitfalls. God might also withhold an answer to help us grow as we act in faith and obedience to the truth we already know.
- Act on your revelations. We can be confident in the guidance we’ve received, and put the wisdom God has given us to the test.
- Offer gratitude to your Heavenly Father. Elder Scott explains that “our sincere efforts to thank our beloved Father generate wondrous feelings of peace, self-worth, and love.”
Remember, “Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously. It may seem paradoxical, but that is why recognizing answers to prayer can sometimes be very difficult.” Answers to prayer may take time and effort, but prayer is an opportunity to find incomparable peace and guidance in a turbulent world.
Take an in-depth look at finding answers to prayers in the full article, “Learning to Recognize Answers to Prayer” by Elder Richard G. Scott.
Source: General Conference
—Kate Davis, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY ANASTASIA SHUREVA
Find more insights
Watch “Daily Bread: Experience,” a video by Elder D. Todd Christoffersen, to learn more about seeking daily guidance from our Heavenly Father.
Read “When Answers to Prayer Don’t Come” by Courtney Johansson on Latter-day Saint Insights to discover what to do when we don’t find answers right away.