We can prepare to receive personal guidance, direction, and communication from God — what we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call personal revelation — by reading scriptures and pondering them, praying often, fasting, and gratefully recognizing the blessings in our lives. The scriptures also teach us that we need to “ask in faith, nothing wavering.” That faith is essential to receiving answers to prayers, and to building a personal relationship with God.

How do answers come?

Elder Robert D. Hales, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said this in a recent talk:

By unwavering faith, we learn for ourselves that “it is by faith that miracles are wrought.”¹⁸

Generally, those miracles will not be physical demonstrations of God’s power—parting of the Red Sea, raising of the dead, breaking down prison walls, or the appearance of heavenly messengers. By design, most miracles are spiritual demonstrations of God’s power—tender mercies gently bestowed through impressions, ideas, feelings of assurance, solutions to problems, strength to meet challenges, and comfort to bear disappointments and sorrow.

For more information on this topic, please see the following links:
Elder David A. Bednar: That We May Always Have His Spirit to be With Us (audio link, >video link)Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Personal Revelation (audio link, video link)Gerald N. Lund: The Still Small Voice: Revelation and How it Can Come (audio link)
“Does God answer my prayers?” – Jennifer shares her experience with receiving answers to her prayers at a critical decision point in her life when she was learning about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“How can I feel closer to God?” – Noelle shares her experiences with receiving answers to her questions

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Hear one woman’s experience with receiving guidance and answers to her prayers when she was at a crossroads in her life. This video is entitled, “Does God answer my questions?”

Another woman shares how she found answers to her questions through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and through seeking God’s direction to know if she should join the Church.

It’s important to remember that not all answers — not even those about the gospel and its truthfulness — come immediately to everyone. A valuable part of the process of building a relationship with God is learning how He communicates with you. If you have struggled wondering when and if God will ever answer your prayer (which has been a struggle for most of us at some time or another), consider the following experience of one of the past presidents of the Church (as shared by Elder Robert D. Hales in a recent General Conference talk about receiving direction and guidance from God):

These miracles come to us as we endure what the scriptures call a “trial of [our] faith.” Sometimes that trial is the time it takes before an answer is received. When President David O. McKay was a young man herding cattle, he sought a witness, but it did not come until many years later while serving his mission in Scotland. He said, “It was a manifestation for which as a doubting youth I had secretly prayed . . . on hillside and in meadow. It was an assurance to me that sincere prayer is answered ‘sometime, somewhere’ ” ⁽Quoted in Francis M. Gibbons, David O. McKay: Apostle to the World, Prophet of God (1986), 50).

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I had a visiting teaching appointment last night. As is often the case, I was rushed to get things done for my family, get myself presentable, and prepare the lesson. But reading the message almost stopped me in my tracks. It helped me remember the tremendous blessing that the Spirit can be in our lives. I was moved by all of the excerpts, but particularly appreciated this from Sister Eliza R. Snow:

When you are filled with the Spirit of God, … that [Spirit] satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart, and fills up every vacuum. When I am filled with that spirit my soul is satisfied. … The Spirit of God will impart instruction to your minds, and you will impart it to each other. … Remember that you are Saints of God; and that you have important works to perform in Zion” (Woman’s Exponent, Sept. 15, 1873, 62).

I wonder sometimes if we look in the wrong places and in the wrong ways when we feel spiritually unsatisfied, or have an unfulfilled ache in our hearts. There is so much in life that has a tendency to throw us off spiritually: illness, financial troubles, doctrinal questions, relationship struggles, worry about wayward family members, mourning, unfulfilled dreams…. The list could go on and on. I loved that Sister Snow said that the Spirit “satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart” and “fills up every vacuum” (emphasis added). I have to ask myself: Do I trust that the Spirit can help me that much? How often do I expect my voids to be filled by someone’s choices, or prayers answered according to my will, or receiving understanding (now!) about the ‘whys’ of life? Do I believe that I can find peace and strength along the way, regardless of what is happening in my life?

I have heard a quote by Brigham Young that basically said that we live far beneath our privileges when it comes to the Holy Ghost. Reading this quote by Eliza R. Snow seems to validate that teaching. She has motivated me to (“put my trust in [the] Spirit”) more!

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