Yesterday was fast Sunday. I wanted to bear my testimony, but I didn't get the chance in sacrament meeting. Usually they leave some time at the end of Relief Society for testimonies and I figured that would be less nerve wracking (since I don't like speaking in front of large groups of people). The lesson took up the whole time so I didn't get the chance again. I figured I might as well share my thoughts here.
Because of what happened with my family last week, I've been thinking a lot about prayer. I knew the trial was coming and I had been fasting and praying for a certain outcome. I didn't get the result I wanted. I could have easily seen that as my prayers not being answered. However, this result led to another option for my family, one that could be helpful for the future. I may not have gotten the answer I wanted, but I did get an answer.
It reminds me of the scene in Evan Almighty where the wife is in a restaurant and God (Morgan Freeman) says to her, "Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give you courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"
That's how prayer works. We may not get the exact answer we want and we may not get the answer when we want it, but we do get an answer. I love knowing that when I'm praying, I'm being heard. I love having this knowledge. I love having the gospel in my life because I don't know how I could make it though this life without it.
