Contributed by Darcy Monchamp of the Winnipeg Manitoba Stake
As a convert to our Church, I have come to live by two scriptures: 1 Nephi 3:7, “…the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them”, and Mark 9:24, “I believe, help thou mine unbelief”.
One of the Lord’s commandments is to pray always. Then I listen for the answers to my prayers. Sometimes the answer seems too simple or there is doubt that the Lord will respond. When an answer is received, it may be misunderstood or not heard. Such was the case when I had cause to pray on behalf of my husband. He is not a member of our church, but I pray every day for the spirit to touch his heart and teach him the Gospel in ways that meet his needs. I find that Heavenly Father directs me to help him in very unexpected ways.
One day my husband was searching for some important work-related papers that he needed urgently. He looked everywhere and couldn’t find them. He became very upset about his dilemma. I tried to help but felt that if he had already searched at length how could I find what he could not? I then realized that there was someone who knew exactly where those elusive papers where, the same person who knows where all things are. That of course was my Heavenly Father.
We are told that if we ask in faith we will receive, so I thought that if I asked He would be able to guide me to the papers. So I said a prayer. I let God know that I knew that He knew the whereabouts of all things and that we would be grateful if He would be able to show us the way. I closed my prayer and waited. Almost immediately a small voice whispered to me, “They’re in the upstairs bedroom closet.” My first thought was, “The bedroom closet, what in the world would work papers being doing in the bedroom closet? What an unusual notion.” The words once again were whispered in my ear, “They are in the upstairs bedroom closet.” As I stood wondering and doubting, I decided that if I were going to pray about something and trust in God for an answer, I better be prepared to act no matter how strange I might think the answer was.
So off I went to the bedroom closet. When I opened the door, besides clothing, I found a turkey roaster filled with an odd assortment of papers. I thought, this can’t possibly be what I’m looking for, but I pulled the roaster out and began going through the papers inside, most of which were it was just as I suspected, just a bunch of insignificant papers. Then, as I continued, one sheet at a time, I discovered the missing papers. Who would have thought we would find the lost papers in a bedroom closet? I was excited to be able to present the papers to my husband who was just as puzzled and pleased as I was. He asked, “What were they doing in the closet? And how did you know?” I couldn’t answer that question, but I could tell him that because I prayed to know, God was able to guide me to the papers.
I am grateful for the commandments and for prayer. I am especially grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who promises so much and gives so abundantly. I find that when we accept and act on the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we are blessed with answers every day.