Power of Prayer and Inspired Thoughts

I feel like I need to write this now, more than ever.  I believe in the power of prayer.  I always have and I always will.  I have had very special experiences with prayer and it has strengthened my testimony.  I have had the opportunity recently to exercise this concept on more than one occasion in order to find things that were lost.

I had a very unique experience tonight.  One that I am grateful for, not only for its primary experience, but the knowledge on a bigger scale, that my prayers are heard and God does have a plan.

I have been playing tag with one of the sisters I visit teach.  For you non-LDS readers, visiting teaching is an inspired program within our church, where women (2 women as companions) go and visit 2-4 women with in each ward at least once a month.  This is a way to check on the well being of these individuals while providing lasting relationships and stewardships over the individuals and sharing gospel related messages to strengthen testimonies.  This allows the organization as a whole to be made aware of the needs of its members, while also providing caring and lasting relationships, strengthening not only those who teach but those who are taught.  ANYWAYS, I have not been the very best at this, I get busy, I forget, bottom line... I need to be better about this.  So I've prayed about this quite frequently and have made the resolve to be better.  To truly seek out opportunities to serve and love the sisters I've been given the opportunity to care for.

I was finally able to set up a meeting with this sister (sister is the term we use to address the members of our congregation... ie, I'm Sis. Howe and Mitch would be referred to as Bro. Howe, since we are all brothers and sisters in God's kingdom)  and as I was calling to confirm out appointment she relayed to me, she was unable to locate her car keys and would not be able to meet me if they were not found.  This was bout four hours prior to our scheduled meeting.

I, knowing how frustrating it can be to lose something and not be able to find it, stopped what I was doing and invited my family to say a prayer that she would find her keys.  I' ve been praying a lot lately to find things and when it felt like all was lost and should just give up, I kept faith in my prayers and Heavenly Father helped me find them.  These are very trivial requests but I know with all my heart my prayers were heard and He guided me in this small matter.  I  left my house shortly after to try and find a shirt for Ronan's baby blessing.  As time went on, I kept checking messages to hear from the lady I was to visit teach, and nothing.  I called my companion and informed her of the situation and told her, most likely we would not be visiting her tonight.  I had a tooth pulled earlier today so in my mind, it was probably for the better.  This month is also a very tight month for us financially so gas money has to be rationed as well, yet another factor.  It would have been easy to write this off as just a quick phone call and we will try to meet later, but that just didn't set right with me.

Something within me, almost subconsciously, told me to dial her number, almost before I knew what I was doing, so I called her to check on her progress.  She lives on the other side of town, and as she described the events of her tearing her house apart to find these keys to no avail, before even thinking twice, I offered to come to her house to help her find her keys.  Normally Mitch would be in class at this time, and I would have two kids, but tonight he was at home and after a quick phone call to make sure he was good with the babies, I decided to head to her home.  I could truly feel where she was coming from, because I have been in much similar situations before.

I had never met this woman before so I could imagine she may have had hesitation to allow me to come to her house to let her look, but I know sometimes we exhaust ourselves so much that an extra set of eyes can make all the differnce in the world.  I am grateful she accepted my offer.  Before I knew what was going on, I was on my way to her house.   I wanted so badly to help her, but I'd never been to her house, didn't know the layout of her house, where to even look... so I prayed.  I prayed I would be in tune with the spirit that I might be able to help her find her keys.  That we would be able to find her keys at all... but I had faith.  Heavenly Father has helped me so much lately and I knew He would help this time and I was at peace.  I arrived at her house and she was happy for the help.

She looked exhausted and frustrated and was at a loss as to where the keys could be.  I had never been to her home and had no idea where would be a good place to start looking.  At first, we went over the last time she used the keys, what the keys looked like, and the last place they remembered seeing them.  I had also asked if they had prayed to find them which she did.  I wanted to help her look without violating her privacy.  I mean who would allow a complete stranger to come over to their home and search their stuff and how would that stranger look for keys while be respectful of others property?  Heavenly Father will use everything for His will and the good of His people.  We had determined the couch was the last place, but they had searched the couch thoroughly and hadn't found them.  It was a modest space and so it was frustrating to be unable to locate such a small item when they had searched everywhere to no avail.

I started looking, praying for inspiration.  I didn't have any inklings of where it might be, just a peace it would be found and if it wasn't found, I was making contingency plans in my head of how I could help this person.  I, too, looked all over the couch and started shaking baskets or uncommon places, since that's often where you would find them. Everyone started to search different areas and once everyone gathered back in the living room to regroup, I felt strongly to ask if we could all kneel down together and pray for guidance.  This is not something I normally ask someone I don't know,  but my father has taught me from a very young age, that there is power in numbers and the scriptures teach us, that when one or more are gathered, it gives our prayers that much more power.  So here I am, one person, offering a suggestion to someone I've known for such a short time.  I know they share a faith like mine, but I was unaware of what strength or conviction... they could have totally rejected that idea or maybe even be offended by it, but I was bold and listened to that still small prompting.  It is easier for me to recognize the still, small voice, as I like to call it (I'm referring to the Holy Ghost, not a physical voice but more a feeling within you) after the fact. Everyone had prayed individually, but not together. Everyone agreed to pray together and shortly thereafter, we were all gathered, kneeling down in prayer, asking for guidance to find these keys.

So in total, five different people were looking for these keys before we all knelt down together.  After the prayer, we started looking again. We were still unable to locate the keys, my next thought was to find a locksmith to make a set of new keys or for me to drive back tomorrow to help them get to the areas they needed... whatever I could do to help them in this situation.  As I was talking to the sister about something as she sat on the couch we searched several times, I looked past her, and there was a blanket thrown over the couch that caught my eye, that I did not recognize before.  I stopped talking mid sentence as she followed my gaze and I just picked up the blanket.  The keys fell out.

Everyone was very grateful and she was so relieved.  I am thankful that I could be a tool in the Lord's hand.  I know that it was in His plan for me to help this family and allow an opportunity to strengthen not only my testimony of prayer, but a whole family's testimony.  I was able to assist and help her.  It was such a rewarding experience and humbling to see the Lord work, not only in my life, but in theirs.  There is no possible way, that I could have gone to a place I'd never been before, to people I've never formally met, and just find a very small item (it was one key on a single key chain).  It seemed like an impossible task, but when we pray, Heavenly Father will hear our prayers and answer them as he sees fit.  I am so grateful I was able to serve and be in tune with His will, in a way that I could help others, but also strengthen my testimony that He has an inspired plan for all of us and He will inspire us to do things that will further that plan.  It would have been so easy to say to this person, "Well I hope you find your keys, we can try to meet later."  But I would have missed out on an amazing experience and the opportunity to really help someone in need of help.  I would have missed out on an opportunity to start a great relationship and an opportunity to help strengthen not one, but an entire family's testimony.

Why am I sharing this?  At first, it was just to document a really neat spiritual experience on the power of prayer and my testimony of visit teaching, but after tonight's election results, I have learned an even more powerful lesson.  I KNOW my Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers... thus demonstrated on trivial things as simple as finding keys or a box of clothes.  I know its not a coincidence that I've have so many experiences like that, as of late.  I KNOW when we have FAITH in our prayers, that they are heard and that we TRUST with all of our hearts in Him, he WILL answer our prayers and provide inspiration.

 It would be easy to be discouraged in what seems like an impossible situation, but I want to invite everyone to kneel down in prayer, in your families, with your friends, and in your communities, where ever and with whomever.  Pray for inspiration for our country.  Pray for our leaders.  Pray that we might find a way to turn this country around, because as long as we have our faith, we have hope. Nothing is lost, because Heavenly Father will always provide a way for us to find the things we are in search of.  We must continue to seek after good things, try our best to be good people.  Because even when we feel like the task before us is impossible and the world says we can't, I know with my Heavenly Father, I can.  I can do all things through Him and it is my goal to keep trying to accomplish what others say is impossible.  We must not give up on America, we are still worth fighting for and I know as we pray, He will help us find what we are looking for.