Inquiring of the Lord

[LostSheep]

What good is it to ask God for help when I don't know whether the answer is His or mine own? How can I tell the difference?

PS: I would just ask God this question, but, uh...well...see above...

[Connie]

Ask, Seek, Knock

Prayer and Promptings

To Acquire Spiritual Guidance (read the whole thing, over and over if needed)

Edited December 9, 2009 by Connie

[Connie]

To access information from heaven, one must first have a firm faith and a deep desire. One needs to “ask with a sincere heart [and] real intent, having faith in [Jesus] Christ.”2 “Real intent” means that one really intends to follow the divine direction given.

The next requirement is to study the matter diligently.

-Elder Russell M. Nelson (this is from the first talk listed above)

[Connie]

When temptation comes, you can invent a delete key in your mind—perhaps the words from a favorite hymn. Your mind is in charge; your body is the instrument of your mind. When some unworthy thought pushes into your mind, replace it with your delete key. Worthy music is powerful and can help you control your thoughts.10

When Oliver Cowdery failed in an attempt to translate, the Lord told him:

“Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

“But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings” (D&C 9:7–9).

That principle is illustrated by the story of a little girl. She was upset with her brother, who built a trap to catch sparrows.

Unable to get help, she said to herself, “Well, I’ll pray about it.”

After her prayer, the little girl told her mother, “I know he is not going to catch any sparrows in his trap because I prayed about it. I’m positive he won’t catch any sparrows!”

Her mother said, “How can you be so sure?”

She said, “After I prayed about it, I went out and kicked that old trap all to pieces!”

Pray even if you are young and wayward like the prophet Alma or have a closed mind like Amulek, who “knew concerning these things, yet . . . would not know” (Alma 10:6).

Learn to pray. Pray often. Pray in your mind, in your heart. Pray on your knees. Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil. And I have learned to conclude all my prayers with “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10; see also Luke 11:2; 3 Nephi 13:10).

Do not expect to be free entirely from trouble and disappointment and pain and discouragement, for these are the things that we were sent to earth to endure.

Someone wrote:

With thoughtless and impatient hands

We tangle up the plans

The Lord hath wrought.

And when we cry in pain He saith,

“Be quiet, man, while I untie the knot.”11

The scriptures promise, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The Savior said, “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (D&C 88:63).

-Elder Boyd K. Packer (this is from the second talk listed above)

[Misshalfway]

Well, recognizing the spirit is tricky. It's a difficult thing to teach a person as it must be experienced. But I would guess you know what right and wrong feels like. I would start building from there. The most important thing, I think, is to stick with the process of testing and exercizing faith. Alma 32 isn't something we do just once at the beginning of our testimonies. We continue with every prompting to "give place" and to "plant the seed and see if its good". Sometimes it just means discerning the best way we can and have faith its God. I really do believe that God rewards our best efforts even if they are filled with imperfection. And the ability to recognize comes over time. It's that BofM waxing thing. You don't get to enjoy the candle until you done all the dipping and drying.

Also....God won't command in all things. he sometimes won't tell us what to do either because we already know or because tellling us too soon would interfere with our growth. so when god doesn't answer, don't fret. just do the best you can with your faculties right now. revisit it on the other side of your efforts.

[Connie]

A few highlights from the third talk listed above which happens to be by Elder Richard G. Scott:

"Father in Heaven knew that you would face challenges and be required to make some decisions that would be beyond your own ability to decide correctly. In His plan of happiness, He included a provision for you to receive help with such challenges and decisions during your mortal life. That assistance will come to you through the Holy Ghost as spiritual guidance. It is a power, beyond your own capability, that a loving Heavenly Father wants you to use consistently for your peace and happiness.

I am convinced that there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow you to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit. Our Father expects you to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ. Were you to receive inspired guidance just for the asking, you would become weak and ever more dependent on Them. They know that essential personal growth will come as you struggle to learn how to be led by the Spirit.

What may appear initially to be a daunting task will be much easier to manage over time as you consistently strive to recognize and follow feelings prompted by the Spirit. Your confidence in the direction you receive from the Holy Ghost will also become stronger. I witness that as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear."

"Have patience as you are perfecting your ability to be led by the Spirit. By careful practice, through the application of correct principles, and by being sensitive to the feelings that come, you will gain spiritual guidance. I bear witness that the Lord, through the Holy Ghost, can speak to your mind and heart. Sometimes the impressions are just general feelings. Sometimes the direction comes so clearly and so unmistakably that it can be written down like spiritual dictation."

[Just_A_Guy]

I think this is one reason we're encouraged to keep journals . . . one of the best ways to realize what is and isn't the Spirit, and then look back over your life and evaluate which feelings you followed and how those decisions tend to turn out.

If you, like me, haven't been great about keeping a journal--frankly, you're just going to have to do a lot of introspection, rack your memory, take notes . . . you've had more experiences with the Spirit than you think you have.

Having an impartial third-party is also helpful--that's where the bishop often comes in.

[Still_Small_Voice]

I was just reading something about this. Read this counsel from Henry Eyring:

"I have found that is true: the words of inspiration from the Holy Ghost are words the Savior used. When I read the words spoken by the Savior in the scriptures, I grow in my capacity to recognize inspiration from the Holy Ghost. For that reason my personal scriptures tend to wear out unevenly. I go most often to those places in the Book of Mormon, in the Doctrine and Covenants, and in the Bible where the Lord is speaking. By doing that I can better recognize the voice of the Spirit when the Savior’s words echo easily in my mind."

Elder Henry B. Eyring

[JudoMinja]

Recognizing the Spirit-

When the Spirit communicates with you he communicates with your MIND and your HEART. When you feel a sense of completeness, surity, warm fuzzies, etc (everyone's a little different), and you know in your mind and heart that it is right, this is a prompting from the Spirit.

Before we even approach the Lord about a matter in prayer, he has asked that we study it out for ourselves. When we have come to a possible conclusion or answer, then we ask about that instead of asking a vague question like what should I do? This makes it easier to recognize prompting from the Spirit, because all he has to do is give us a yes or no answer. Instead of trying to interpret what he is saying, we can be looking and listening for that yes or no. A yes will be communicated to us as stated above. A no will leave us still in confusion and disarray.

[Samm]

The answers will come, don't give up, be patient, Heavenly Father is faithful.