It is so easy in this busy, sometimes crazy life to feel alone; to feel like no one understands, or cares.

It is easy to believe we are left to ourselves, if we don’t lift our eyes and hearts to God.

And yet, when we take the time to call upon His name, we can know that God is there.

Over the past few months, I have been overwhelmed with the challenges I faced. Focusing on those challenges, my weaknesses, and what seemed hopeless to overcome, I forgot to look up. I wallowed in self-pity, fear, and neglect. I felt alone.

A talk at church reminded me of the importance of kneeling to pray (my prayers had become those horizontal, half-asleep kind you offer if you try to pray lying down). I decided to try it that night, and knelt to pray on my bed, with a talk by our prophet, Thomas S. Monson on in the background because I knew I needed to pray, but couldn’t reach to turn it off.

The worries and concerns that had plagued me filled my heart as I closed my eyes. I had barely bowed my head and spoken the words, “Dear Heavenly Father” when I heard President Monson’s voice speak:

“The Lord will provide the help you need.”

Those exact words, exactly when I needed them most filled my heart with the reassurance that I am not alone. I am not forgotten. Someone understands and cares, and answers the heartfelt prayers of His children when they seek Him, even imperfectly! I do need to do better – kneeling with no distractions helps me focus my prayers better, and hear His replies more clearly! But He heard and answered my heart’s concerns at that moment.

The next day, I got on my knees, and prayed for help, then forced myself to face and deal with the things that I had worried about. One by one, those burdens were lifted. Problems were resolved. Peace was restored, and my heart was filled with joy as I saw God had indeed answered my prayer, and fulfilled the promise He made through His prophet that He would “provide the help [I] need[ed]!”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles summed it up this way:

“But whenever these moments of our extremity come, we must not succumb to the fear that God has abandoned us or that He does not hear our prayers. He does hear us. He does see us. He does love us. When we are in dire circumstances and want to cry “Where art Thou?” it is imperative that we remember He is right there with us—where He has always been! We must continue to believe, continue to have faith, continue to pray and plead with heaven, even if we feel for a time our prayers are not heard and that God has somehow gone away. He is there. Our prayers are heard.”– Jeffrey R. Holland, “Lessons from Liberty Jail,” Ensign, Sept. 2009, p. 26

I add my witness to his: God is there!

The post First Person: God Is There appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Tequitia, who wrote our Portrait this week, shares an experience where seeking help through prayer allowed the Lord to help soften her heart with a difficult issue.

MormonSoprano (a woman who sings with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) shares her thoughts on prayer here.

Maurine shares from a talk she gave at the 2009 BYU Women’s Conference: “Finding the Door to Personal Revelation” — including personal experiences and lots of scriptural insights.

Read experiences on MormonsBelieve from Paul about prayers being answered daily; from Shuchi, a former Buddhist who talks about receiving an answer about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith‘s prophetic calling; from Karen about her many experiences connecting with heaven as she sought truth and light in her life.

Do you have an experience when you received an answer to prayer?

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Read more about prayer on Mormon Women:

We Believe: Prayer

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Weekly Question: On Recognizing the Spirit

The post Links We like: Receiving Answers to Prayer appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.