3 Experiences with Prayer That Changed My Relationship with God

When I was preparing to be baptized at eight years old, I wanted nothing more than for my grandparents to attend my baptism. But they lived all the way in Tahiti, and it was hard for them to make the trip to France at their age. At this point in their lives, they believed the last time they would make the trip would be if my aunt—who was single—was getting married. This seemed unlikely to happen before my baptism, but I knew that if I prayed, Heavenly Father would answer.

One day at church, my mom and I saw a man sitting alone. We looked at each other and suddenly both had the thought that he could be a good fit for my aunt! He happened to also be looking for an eternal companion, so we arranged for him to meet her.

They fell in love and decided to be married, and my grandparents came to France for the wedding and my baptism!

Heavenly Father answered my specific prayer in a way that only He could. I know He doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way we hope, but He often answers in ways that show us how important we are to Him.

Elder Taylor G. Godoy of the Seventy said:

“God hears our prayers and answers them in a personalized way. …

“As we pray we can feel the embrace of our Heavenly Father.”

Heavenly Father listens to us because He cares about us and what we care about. His answers may come in unexpected ways, but they do come.

Several years ago, my parents sold our house. They had sent a request to the bank to grant us the money we needed to sign papers for a new home in another city.

Everything was going as planned until the bank denied our request. Because our current house had already been sold, we only had one month to find the money to buy a new house, otherwise we would be homeless.

Together, we fasted and prayed. My parents told me that if we put our trust in God, He would provide.

The prophet Moroni teaches that “ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6).

Through this trial, we had the opportunity to trust Heavenly Father above anything and anyone else. On the last day of the month, the bank granted my parents’ request, and we were able to sign the papers.

When we experience challenges, it’s up to us to exercise faith in Heavenly Father until He sends us an answer in His time. If we continue to exercise our trust in Him through prayer, we will invite His hand into our lives.

This year, I had to find an internship for university credit. The deadline was approaching, but I had found nothing. If I didn’t find the right opportunity, I would have to redo the entire school year. I was away from my parents, but they’d taught me what to do in circumstances like this one.

I sought Heavenly Father’s help through prayer. I put my future in His hands.

And guess what? In time, He put someone in my path who offered me an internship that was exactly what I needed.

My experiences might sound easy to you, and it might sound like I always got what I wanted when I prayed. But I’ve said many prayers that were answered differently than what I’d hoped. And I’m still waiting on others.

But sometimes God sends me miracles that help me hold on and trust that things will turn out OK. So don’t give up. Always trust in the Lord. He knows what’s important to us, and we are important to Him.

President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught, “If we ‘ask not amiss’ [2 Nephi 4:35], there are no limits to when, where, or about what we should pray.”

The Lord wants to hear from us. He is waiting for us to reach out to Him so He can help us. Seek His help in prayer, and He will always be there.