Answers to Prayer

[martybess]

Answers to Prayer.

I might feel frustrated that the Lord does not speak more often, that I do not hear voices speaking out of silent air or burning bushes. A God who does not speak—a silent God—must not care. I share I thought that came to me today. The Lord's silences are never the silence of indifference. They are the silence of listening! Tonight is my weekly night at the temple. I will sit in the celestial room after my work is done and embrace the silence there and as I talk, Father will listen and every once in a while through the silence will come a comment. Silence is truly golden! Thanks for listening HF!

[CookieC]

Awesome thoughts! I really needed this reminder today. Thank you!

[martybess]

What are "we" told to do when someone in need comes to us with a problem? Don't lecture and feel the need to help with words but listen. Father shows us the way and we in turn should do the same for our children and others. - Show love by listening, that's what the Heavens do. :)

[Blackmarch]

Answers to Prayer.

I might feel frustrated that the Lord does not speak more often, that I do not hear voices speaking out of silent air or burning bushes. A God who does not speak—a silent God—must not care. I share I thought that came to me today. The Lord's silences are never the silence of indifference. They are the silence of listening! Tonight is my weekly night at the temple. I will sit in the celestial room after my work is done and embrace the silence there and as I talk, Father will listen and every once in a while through the silence will come a comment. Silence is truly golden! Thanks for listening HF!

Answers come by many different ways, and not just by silent voice, thought, or impression.

Many a time have I had a question that i asked about, only to have it answered within days by someone talking about that very thing or "accidently" turning to a scripture that covered my very question, or some such seemingly random event.

[Traveler]

Answers to Prayer.

I might feel frustrated that the Lord does not speak more often, that I do not hear voices speaking out of silent air or burning bushes. A God who does not speak—a silent God—must not care. I share I thought that came to me today. The Lord's silences are never the silence of indifference. They are the silence of listening! Tonight is my weekly night at the temple. I will sit in the celestial room after my work is done and embrace the silence there and as I talk, Father will listen and every once in a while through the silence will come a comment. Silence is truly golden! Thanks for listening HF!

I believe that if we listen carefully to instructions that we are taught the order of temple prayers. I agree with your insite that it is a very good idea to listen while in the celestial room. Perhaps, we are often too busy telling our needs and impressions upon finding ourselves in holy places that we do not take the time or make the effort to listen and be instructed.

The Traveler

[martybess]

I believe that if we listen carefully to instructions that we are taught the order of temple prayers. I agree with your insite that it is a very good idea to listen while in the celestial room. Perhaps, we are often too busy telling our needs and impressions upon finding ourselves in holy places that we do not take the time or make the effort to listen and be instructed.

The Traveler

Yes indeed.

I'm coming to see the great value in silence. "Peace be still" speaks volumes.

We live in a troubled world with so many distractions in advanced countries around the world who have lost the ability to embrace silence. You might even say we panic when faced with it. Yes Isaiah says that during the millennium the Lord will answer even before we call upon him and while we are yet speaking he will hear. Isaiah Chapter 65:24*. But for now I think much can be said about silence. I love the words to the hymn - Cast Thy Burden upon the Lord. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, And he shall sustain thee. He never will suffer the righteous to fall. He is at thy right hand. Thy mercy, Lord, is great And far above the heav’ns. Let none be made ashamed That wait upon thee."

[Traveler]

Yes indeed.

I'm coming to see the great value in silence. "Peace be still" speaks volumes.

We live in a troubled world with so many distractions in advanced countries around the world who have lost the ability to embrace silence. You might even say we panic when faced with it. Yes Isaiah says that during the millennium the Lord will answer even before we call upon him and while we are yet speaking he will hear. Isaiah Chapter 65:24*. But for now I think much can be said about silence. I love the words to the hymn - Cast Thy Burden upon the Lord. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, And he shall sustain thee. He never will suffer the righteous to fall. He is at thy right hand. Thy mercy, Lord, is great And far above the heav’ns. Let none be made ashamed That wait upon thee."

At one point of my life I walked away from civilization and into the wilderness to “fast” of sorts for 40 days. It was a great spiritual experience that has affected my life greatly. However, I was too young and foolish at the time to realize the impact of spending weeks without any other human contact can have. To be honest it took years to realize how many prayers – past, present and future were answered at that time. Even now 40 years later it affects my response here. When I left the wilderness – at the time I thought it all to be a big failure.

The Traveler

[martybess]

At one point of my life I walked away from civilization and into the wilderness to “fast” of sorts for 40 days. It was a great spiritual experience that has affected my life greatly. However, I was too young and foolish at the time to realize the impact of spending weeks without any other human contact can have. To be honest it took years to realize how many prayers – past, present and future were answered at that time. Even now 40 years later it affects my response here. When I left the wilderness – at the time I thought it all to be a big failure.

The Traveler

Wow how often I've wanted to try something like that! Thanks for sharing.

The times when my witness has been beyond my own expectations it has been alone in the wilderness or alone in the wee hours. It has been years since those experiences, now silence of a difference nature speaks volumes. Not so much FIRE & POWER but a special kind of POWER from PEACE. Kinda the difference between "By the power of God "I can do all things" and "I can do all things" because "I am as calm as a summer's morning."

Edited November 18, 2010 by martybess

[Mute]

At one point of my life I walked away from civilization and into the wilderness to “fast” of sorts for 40 days. It was a great spiritual experience that has affected my life greatly. However, I was too young and foolish at the time to realize the impact of spending weeks without any other human contact can have. To be honest it took years to realize how many prayers – past, present and future were answered at that time. Even now 40 years later it affects my response here. When I left the wilderness – at the time I thought it all to be a big failure.

The Traveler

I remember when I was religious, I fasted 3 days straight without food or water. This was during a time period when I was walking pretty much straight all day long every day. I usually walked 10 to 20 miles every single day. That was how I spent my time. Well I decided to fast 3 days straight and continue my regular walking. That wasn't a good idea but some how I managed to do it without dying.

Looking back, I don't think I realized how possible that was. I didn't realize how bad it was for me to go this long without food or water and while doing such amounts of exercise. I remember on the third day, the only thing I could think about was food. I remember the clock counting down before I'd let myself eat something. Every single minute seemed like 10. I did do it though and I'm glad I did. I didn't get any answers to my fasting but I did learn a lot of confidence from doing it. After I did this, I had a pain in my chest that didn't go away for an entire year. It's not something I ever want to do again. If someone wants to fast, I'd say stick to the 24 hour period and no more.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Mute

[Traveler]

I remember when I was religious, I fasted 3 days straight without food or water. This was during a time period when I was walking pretty much straight all day long every day. I usually walked 10 to 20 miles every single day. That was how I spent my time. Well I decided to fast 3 days straight and continue my regular walking. That wasn't a good idea but some how I managed to do it without dying.

Looking back, I don't think I realized how possible that was. I didn't realize how bad it was for me to go this long without food or water and while doing such amounts of exercise. I remember on the third day, the only thing I could think about was food. I remember the clock counting down before I'd let myself eat something. Every single minute seemed like 10. I did do it though and I'm glad I did. I didn't get any answers to my fasting but I did learn a lot of confidence from doing it. After I did this, I had a pain in my chest that didn't go away for an entire year. It's not something I ever want to do again. If someone wants to fast, I'd say stick to the 24 hour period and no more.

There are many kinds of fasts. While I was in the wilderness I did eat but I only ate what G-d and nature provided - mostly grubs, insects and wild plants. I have joked about grasshoppers and told people that grasshoppers have lots of vitamin "L". Anyway they sure taste like “L”. LOL. Actually I tried eating them many different ways and none worked. My two best meals were a wild chicken I caught (escaped from somewhere) and some fish in a stream I came across. After I ate the chicken I made chicken soup with old cans and the left over’s – the third day I boiled down the chicken bones until I could eat them – all that was left of the chicken was the feet and feathers.

Later I wrote up the experience as a short story but the story was rejected for publication as being unbelievable fantasy. The most dramatic part of the experience was finding a prison inmate on a work release that had gotten lost – maybe he was trying to escape. He had terrible blisters from his shoes and could not walk – getting him to help almost caused both our deaths. No water. We were saved by a miracle.

The Traveler

[martybess]

I remember when I was religious, I fasted 3 days straight without food or water. This was during a time period when I was walking pretty much straight all day long every day. I usually walked 10 to 20 miles every single day. That was how I spent my time. Well I decided to fast 3 days straight and continue my regular walking. That wasn't a good idea but some how I managed to do it without dying.

Looking back, I don't think I realized how possible that was. I didn't realize how bad it was for me to go this long without food or water and while doing such amounts of exercise. I remember on the third day, the only thing I could think about was food. I remember the clock counting down before I'd let myself eat something. Every single minute seemed like 10. I did do it though and I'm glad I did. I didn't get any answers to my fasting but I did learn a lot of confidence from doing it. After I did this, I had a pain in my chest that didn't go away for an entire year. It's not something I ever want to do again. If someone wants to fast, I'd say stick to the 24 hour period and no more.

Are you kidding me, 3 days! No water for 3 days can be fatal!

[martybess]

There are many kinds of fasts. While I was in the wilderness I did eat but I only ate what G-d and nature provided - mostly grubs, insects and wild plants. I have joked about grasshoppers and told people that grasshoppers have lots of vitamin "L". Anyway they sure taste like “L”. LOL. Actually I tried eating them many different ways and none worked. My two best meals were a wild chicken I caught (escaped from somewhere) and some fish in a stream I came across. After I ate the chicken I made chicken soup with old cans and the left over’s – the third day I boiled down the chicken bones until I could eat them – all that was left of the chicken was the feet and feathers.

Later I wrote up the experience as a short story but the story was rejected for publication as being unbelievable fantasy. The most dramatic part of the experience was finding a prison inmate on a work release that had gotten lost – maybe he was trying to escape. He had terrible blisters from his shoes and could not walk – getting him to help almost caused both our deaths. No water. We were saved by a miracle.

The Traveler

Wow you have defiantly had silence! Good thing you wrote in down for your posterity. :) I would love to read more. You should post it in the blog area. :)

[Mute]

Are you kidding me, 3 days! No water for 3 days can be fatal!

No. I'm not kidding. That was really hard to do. It wasn't nearly as bad the first 2 days but the 3rd day was horrible.

I could have swore that I saw on the news a man surviving without food or water for 9 days. This was years ago. His car had gone off the road and he had multiple broken bones. When they found him, he was barely alive. I tried searching google to see if I could find any links but found nothing. So no idea what's the story with that.

I'm not sure what the actual amount is a person can go without food or water. Apparently this guy never eats or drinks. I have a hard time believing it though.

Indian man survives without food and water, baffles doctors Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff)

[Traveler]

No. I'm not kidding. That was really hard to do. It wasn't nearly as bad the first 2 days but the 3rd day was horrible.

I could have swore that I saw on the news a man surviving without food or water for 9 days. This was years ago. His car had gone off the road and he had multiple broken bones. When they found him, he was barely alive. I tried searching google to see if I could find any links but found nothing. So no idea what's the story with that.

I'm not sure what the actual amount is a person can go without food or water. Apparently this guy never eats or drinks. I have a hard time believing it though.

Indian man survives without food and water, baffles doctors Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff)

There are many things that contribute to how long a person can go without food and water. Under normal conditions a person can go about 12 days without food before they can cause irreversible damage but if a person is not exerting themselves and in mild conditions, they can go as much as 30 days without food. Water however is another matter. 2 to 3 days is max but the conditions are important - for example when a person is involved in high physical activity in temperatures in the high 90’s just 20 minutes without water can have damaging effects on a person. The effect is mostly to do with organ failure. Kidneys are specifically venerable and a person can die.

Sometimes I believe LDS do not understand fasting very well. We should plan our fasts around our activities. If we are busy and involved – especially in stressful physical activities one ought to be very careful about water. It is pointless to place yourself at risk while fasting during activities where one is too busy to listen and be aware of the spirit’s influence. I use to race competitively as an amateur cyclist and 10 minutes was my personal limit I would go without water and about 25 miles without nourishment.

My point is that when we plan any fast we should arrange our schedule so that we can spend time meditating and pondering the purpose of our fasts. Starving ourselves during our normal activities is not a fast and I see no point it such thinking or actions. I believe we should plan the minimum of an hour (continuous) of meditation and pondering for our fasts. I believe this adjustment to life is more important than going without food and water. BTW watching TV or reading (perhaps scriptures is an exception) is not meditating or pondering. If someone has not meditated or pondered for a specific time before this activity can prove to be most difficult, boring and frustrating. If someone has never tried meditating and pondering for more than a few minutes – I would suggest taking a walk by yourself. During such time – pay attention to the thought that just seem to pop into your head. If your experiences are anything like mine – you will be able to distinctively place your thoughts into two or more categories.

The Traveler

[martybess]

There are many things that contribute to how long a person can go without food and water. Under normal conditions a person can go about 12 days without food before they can cause irreversible damage but if a person is not exerting themselves and in mild conditions, they can go as much as 30 days without food. Water however is another matter. 2 to 3 days is max but the conditions are important - for example when a person is involved in high physical activity in temperatures in the high 90’s just 20 minutes without water can have damaging effects on a person. The effect is mostly to do with organ failure. Kidneys are specifically venerable and a person can die.

Sometimes I believe LDS do not understand fasting very well. We should plan our fasts around our activities. If we are busy and involved – especially in stressful physical activities one ought to be very careful about water. It is pointless to place yourself at risk while fasting during activities where one is too busy to listen and be aware of the spirit’s influence. I use to race competitively as an amateur cyclist and 10 minutes was my personal limit I would go without water and about 25 miles without nourishment.

My point is that when we plan any fast we should arrange our schedule so that we can spend time meditating and pondering the purpose of our fasts. Starving ourselves during our normal activities is not a fast and I see no point it such thinking or actions. I believe we should plan the minimum of an hour (continuous) of meditation and pondering for our fasts. I believe this adjustment to life is more important than going without food and water. BTW watching TV or reading (perhaps scriptures is an exception) is not meditating or pondering. If someone has not meditated or pondered for a specific time before this activity can prove to be most difficult, boring and frustrating. If someone has never tried meditating and pondering for more than a few minutes – I would suggest taking a walk by yourself. During such time – pay attention to the thought that just seem to pop into your head. If your experiences are anything like mine – you will be able to distinctively place your thoughts into two or more categories.

The Traveler

This is an area I need to work on. The spirit is week when it comes to fasting. I've been on pain med's (Lyrica for fibromyalgia) for 13 years now for chronic pain, without them I could not make it and with them I barely do. Always in the clouds. It's a real bummer but I have come to embrace the path I must walk. Anyway fasting really messes me up and I walk around in a daze for days after fasting the full 24 hours but I feel I really need it.

[Traveler]

This is an area I need to work on. The spirit is week when it comes to fasting. I've been on pain med's (Lyrica for fibromyalgia) for 13 years now for chronic pain, without them I could not make it and with them I barely do. Always in the clouds. It's a real bummer but I have come to embrace the path I must walk. Anyway fasting really messes me up and I walk around in a daze for days after fasting the full 24 hours but I feel I really need it.

Some ideas that may help. You do not have to eliminate all food and drink to fast. If you are on meds – try fasting from deserts and unhealthy (fatty and fast foods) during a fast and minimize other foods, just not to the point you have any problems. Also think about fasting activities – eliminate entertainments during your fast and do more service. Be wise and prudent in your choices. I do not believe it was ever meant to deprive yourself of critical needs but to put off that what is physical to connect better with that which is spiritual. An example of a conflicting fast would be to abstain from all foods but going to ”R” rated movies. You may, for example fast eating only cheese and crackers and drinking only water.

If you are on meds – you may want to talk to your doctor about minimal foods you must have during your fast. If your doctor has a religious background they should understand what you are trying to acomphish.

The Traveler

[martybess]

Some ideas that may help. You do not have to eliminate all food and drink to fast. If you are on meds – try fasting from deserts and unhealthy (fatty and fast foods) during a fast and minimize other foods, just not to the point you have any problems. Also think about fasting activities – eliminate entertainments during your fast and do more service. Be wise and prudent in your choices. I do not believe it was ever meant to deprive yourself of critical needs but to put off that what is physical to connect better with that which is spiritual. An example of a conflicting fast would be to abstain from all foods but going to ”R” rated movies. You may, for example fast eating only cheese and crackers and drinking only water.

If you are on meds – you may want to talk to your doctor about minimal foods you must have during your fast. If your doctor has a religious background they should understand what you are trying to acomphish.

The Traveler

My rules to my personal fasting on meds:

-Half a glass of water and half a slice of whole wheat bread in the morning with my pill and the same for lunch when I take my other pill.

-I start my fast about 6pm the night before and end it around 5 that next day.

The problem is I'm not as consistent as I should be. So I guess my earlier statement that the reason I struggle is because I must eat is just an excuses and that I abuse the rules that I have setup for myself.