You have heard it said, “If you are having trouble, turn to the Lord and find peace.” If you haven’t heard those exact words you’ve heard something very similar. It is really that simple? Sometimes, for some people, it seems that it is true. Finding this peace, for others, may be a steep and difficult climb, overcoming doubts and nurturing faith and patience. For me it is a mixture of these circumstances – I’ve experienced both of them and everything in between.

In my last post I wrote about the individuality of our trials. I believe they are custom made and provided to us by a loving God who wants us to grow and develop a relationship with Him (and each other). So….. if trials are individualized, it must follow that everything about the situation is also individualized, including reaching out to Him in prayer and receiving an answer. Of course He will communicate with us in ways that will work best for us, even when we have to wait, sometimes a very long time; and, of course, we have to do our part. The Lord loves effort, right?! With that in mind I sent out a poll to several friends last week and their responses have inspired me and caused me to wonder at many things.

There were just two questions:

1. Have you ever had to “wait” to feel God’s love or for an answer to prayer?
2. What is something that you do to make an effort to be close to God?

I have over 40 responses to share so I will break this up into more than one post. Some are very short, others provided more details. As they were received I did a quick copy/paste so that I really cannot identify the author of more than a couple. The respondents range from teenagers to those in their golden years whose lives are rich with experience and wisdom.

Let’s hear a few responses from my first question – have you ever had to wait?

1. Fifteen friends gave a simple, “yes” while several more responded with some degree of, “yes, I have had to wait”
2. There are varied answers to this. Some answers have been given almost immediately, others have taken decades. Some answers were given before I had formed the question. I’ve found they have been given when time appropriate for my life. Some I am still awaiting and probably won’t be answered in this mortal life.
3. Yes, often it is because I don’t recognize God’s hand or it is not on my time expectation.
4. No.
5. I have never had to wait to feel God’s love. In fact, he met me where I was when I was farthest away from Him (and probably the least deserving of love), and He still held the light as I made my way back to Him through the jungle of bad decisions I had made. He was there in every step with love.
6. Of course!
7. Waiting for an answer to prayer, or feelings God’s love: I would say no, I don’t think I have every prayed and not felt God’s love. I always feel more peace and comfort. As for an answer to the prayer? Yes, most time I’ve had to wait; rarely is the prayer answered instantly, I always have my prayers answered: mostly not right away, sometimes right away, mostly the answer I’m look for, sometimes not. But, always a feeling of love and comfort after a prayer.
8. Of course I have to wait for answers to prayers. Many, many times. I have also had many prayers answered in ways that I was not expecting. I can’t remember ever having to wait to feel God’s love. I just feel it. I have questioned at times, and it comes flooding in. I know God loves me.
9. I have had to wait for an answer to prayer but I keep moving forward knowing that as I follow his commandments He will bless me with peace, comfort, and knowledge that He will answer… eventually, in His time.

I love both the variety and the similarity and I would imagine that we can all relate to what has been said. I will have more to share in the next post or perhaps another after that because there are quite a few and they all deserve to not be lost in the crowd.

Now question number two – what efforts do you make to be closer to God?

1. I have a gratitude journal and write down all the things I am grateful for. It lets me realize how much God has given me.
2. Spend less time watching videos on social media. They are a distraction. I feel closer to God when I am in quiet, calm environments and focused on my physical setting instead of my phone.
3. There’s a few things I do everyday to feel closer to Him. I don’t think one is enough. Prayer being the first. I have to keep my lifeline to Him open and He is my favorite to talk to. Scripture study being the second. I feel closer reading His words. And third, living right. Eliminating anything that can steer me away from Him.
4. Talk to Him all day long. Ask Him to guide me continually.
5. I try to quiet my mind and my surroundings and ponder. Usually the answers or love I’m seeking is already there and I have to calm my mind in order to see it.
6. Open, conversational prayer. Asking for service for myself and ways to serve others. Service brings me closer to God.
7. Hike a mountain, observe nature, stargazing, attend church, read scriptures, pray as if I’m having a conversation with God, serve others, smile at people.
8. I do anything that helps me feel the Spirit like using music, scriptures or talks to help me keep His presence in my life, especially if I feel it slipping away.
9. To be closer to God – my first go-to is prayer, meditation, read His words in the scriptures and serve His children, but also, I like to lean into my challenges – I find Him there supporting and directing me. (As opposed to praying for the challenge to simply go away)
10. Some ways that help me feel closer to God, is taking time in a busy life to study God’s word through study of scriptures or good books. Not just reading them but it has helped me to ask myself what did I just learn from what I read or studied. It gives me more purpose to my study or reading. The other way I feel closer to God is to stretch myself to give meaningful service to others. Service automatically brings such warm feelings. “When you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Wow. Retyping all of these beautiful words is so inspiring to me. I hope that if you have taken the time to read this that you will take the time to go back and read that last list one more time. There are more to come!

This last paragraph comes from a 17 year old boy. I am paraphrasing his comments because I didn’t have them recorded word for word but I didn’t want us to miss out on his insights:

Being close to God is like the brightness on our phones. We think we are seeing clearly but when the brightness is turned up it is so much better. When I wasn’t going to church I thought I was doing alright because that amount of light is what I was used to. When I made an effort to get closer to God the brightness increased and life was so much better. Here is an example – I used to wonder why people made such a big deal about beautiful sunsets. I would think, “What’s the big deal? It is just the sun going down.” Now I see that sunsets are freakin’ awesome! They are so beautiful!

Beautiful sunsets? This kid was definitely speaking my language!