In a time of great personal trial, I followed a prompting that allowed me to help God help me.
When I was younger, I tried to find peace and happiness in every way but the right way; that is to say, God’s way. I ended up suffering from addiction, as many of us do in one form or another.
After hitting rock bottom—homeless, car-less, penny-less, love-less—I finally checked into a two-month inpatient rehabilitation program, which helped me build a foundation for resisting temptation. But when I was released, I left a structured environment where the choices were made for me. Only a short time after rehab, temptation hit me. I found myself, one Sunday morning, pacing my room and silently praying for relief. As I prayed, I heard a voice I barely recognized whisper to me to call Amy, one of my friends.
Photo by Lum3n.
I pushed the voice aside, not giving it a second thought. I sat down on my bed, desperately grasping for a connection to my Father in Heaven and to what I was taught in rehab. I continued to pray, and the voice came into my head again, telling me to call Amy.
I chose again to ignore the prompting, not realizing what it was, and again focused on the temptation I was struggling with. I decided to drop to my knees and say a prayer out loud. “Please help me, please,” I pleaded, so desperate for some sort of direction. “Call Amy!” the voice said again. There was no mistaking it; this voice was not my own. I finished my prayer and said, “Fine! I’ll call!”
When the phone stopped ringing, I heard a sound on the other end: a sobbing girl—heartbroken, betrayed, falling apart, suffering, and desperate for an escape. My heart broke for her. I immediately asked where she was and stayed on the phone while I drove to her. Amy was the answer to my prayer, and I was an answer to hers.
How wonderful it is that God knew both of us so perfectly that he would bring two desperate souls aching for relief together to be a support to one another and to help each other ease our troubled minds in a healthy way. We can often find answers to our prayers by reaching outside ourselves to bless and serve others.
So when God sends us a prompting, we need to remember what President Monson taught us: never ignore a prompting! Especially when you can be an answer to someone else’s prayer. I hate to think what would have happened to me and Amy if I had not done what I was prompted to do.
We are all God’s children and God loves us all so dearly. He desires to bless us with comfort, peace, promptings, protection, and aid. When we turn to him as the best source for these blessings, we help him help us.
Read “The Spirit Giveth Life” by Thomas S. Monson for more discussion of the importance of following promptings.
Source: ChurchofJesusChrist.org
—Preston Hill, Mormon Insights contributor
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I’m so grateful you’ve escaped addiction and that, through your trials, you’ve come to a deeper more meaningful relationship with God and with the guidance of His Holy Spirit. Thanks so much for sharing here.