God Knows You More Than You Know Yourself

                                                                    I am a daughter of God. And he knows me too well. He answers my prayers, helps me through my concerns, and gives me comfort when I need it. What a great blessing! A way I can communicate with my Father in Heaven is through sincere prayer. And when I come unto Him and express the feelings of my heart, He will grant unto me the things I stand in need of.

I was reading in the ensign this morning and came to a talk written by President Monson titled, "Come unto Him in Prayer and Faith." As I pondered on this message, it brought me so much peace and comfort. It reminded me of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, declared, "Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith." (Jacob 3:1) I was reflecting back to my prayers and my faith. And Jacob’s advice has truly helped me as I go through the challenging times in my life.
President Monson says, "As we offer unto the Lord our family prayers and our personal prayers, let us do so with faith and trust in Him. Let us remember the injunction of Paul to the Hebrews:'For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.'" (Hebrews 11:1) When we diligently seek God and come unto Him through sincere prayer and having great faith, we will be rewarded with many great blessings. Sometimes we may not want the answer to our prayers. And as much as we have prayed with faith, God knows what is best for us and will reward us with it. Elder Richard G. Scott gave a great counsel which answers that concern that we all have.
"With even your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you, when it will yield the greatest advantage. Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. That causes your faith to increase and your character to grow."
Wherever we may be, our Heavenly Father can hear and answer the prayer offered in faith. During those darkest moments of our lives, we often lose faith. And instead of praying for help in dealing with the situation, we pray for solutions to our problems. This past couple weeks I have been feeling just indifferent about some things. And this week I was encountered by a challenge that I never thought I would face. And through sincere prayers and putting my faith in the Lord, my prayers were answered. And even though the answer I received was not something I wanted, I know that God knows what is best for me. All I need to do is to continue in nourishing my faith by doing the small and simple things He has commanded me to do. He has poured His spirit upon me to give me peace and comfort. I know that God hears and answers prayers. He loves and cares for each and every one of us. And through our Savior, Jesus Christ we can be healed because He knows us more than we know yourselves!

by Sister Reshell Lewis