When we feel like we hear nothing from God, the best thing to do is keep the faith and keep watching for personalized answers.
Each Sunday, we listen to other people’s testimonies: “I prayed, and I immediately received an answer from God.” “I prayed, and I felt his guidance; I knew exactly what to do.” But what happens when these testimonies don’t match what we are feeling? What do we do when we have poured our souls to God and feel like the only thing we hear back is a busy signal?
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In the video “Faith Crisis: What Do We Do When We Feel Nothing?,” Michael McLean talks about a time when he felt like he received no answer to his prayers for nine years. Reflecting on the experience, he realized that God had been answering his prayers in ways so personal to McLean that he hadn’t even noticed. When we feel like God isn’t there, McLean encourages us to keep the promises we have made with God and to never stop searching for God’s hand in our lives.
Even in times of doubt, as we continue to keep our covenants with God “[we] shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God” (Mosiah 4: 9-12). When we are struggling to feel God’s love or hear his answer to our earnest prayers, pressing forward with faith and looking outward to serve those around us can help us feel God’s presence in our lives.
Elder Gerrit Gong says, “In various times and ways, we all feel inadequate, uncertain, perhaps unworthy. Yet in our faithful efforts to love God and to minister to our neighbor, we may feel God’s love and needed inspiration for their and our lives in new and holier ways.”
The scriptures and the prophets promise that as we continue to seek righteousness, we will be blessed with personalized answers to our prayers. Although those answers might not come when we want them to or how we expect them to, God promises to bless and answer us as we choose his path and keep dialing his number.
Watch “Faith Crisis: What Do We Do When We Feel Nothing?” to see how Michael McLean was able to find answers to his prayers.
Source: Mormon Channel
—Savanna Stone, Mormon Insights
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Find more insights
Read or watch Elder Gong’s talk from General Conference “Our Campfire of Faith” to learn about how to deal with doubt.
Read Sarah Harris’s article called, “Many Struggles with Faith Are Based on Mormon Culture, Not Doctrine, Professor Says“ to find out why people are struggling.