Latter-Day miracles through prayer

This post was written on behalf of mormon.org. All opinions are my own.

Many things in my life have strengthened my love for our Savior Jesus Christ.  Faith and prayer have been essential in overcoming many challenges that I have personally faced. Latter-Day miracles do happen and through the power of prayer and the spirit of the Holy Ghost we can help those who are in need and be a witness to them. This Easter season, we can be reminded of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us through learning more about him.  From April 9 through April 16, you will be able to see one of the eight Principles of Peace every day on mormon.org’s social accounts. For each principle, there is a scripture and three suggested activities to live those principles in your every day life. These 8 core principles can lead to peace in your life and will help you draw closer to the Savior, Jesus Christ. Learn more about this on mormon.org.

Here is an example of someone in my life who has taught me the pure power of the Holy Ghost through having faith and the willingness to kneel down in humble prayer.

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This is a true story entitled:

“The Miracle of Bread and Milk”

In 1995 in a Moab, UT second ward fast and testimony meeting, the Ward Chorister, an elderly fixture of the ward, lamented in her remarks that in all her seventy some years, she had never witnessed a miracle.  She had read about them, but had never seen one, and wondered if we really did have “latter day miracles”. She sat down and immediately arose a thirty-seven-year-old woman, eyes brimming with emotion, and made her way to the podium.  Her eyes surveyed the audience until they found the Chorister’s, and with a sweet smile, she bore the following testimony…

“In 1988 I awakened one morning, prepared breakfast and made lunches for my school age children, got my husband off to work and the kids to school.  In preparing breakfast and lunches, I used the last of the milk and bread that we had.  I couldn’t go to the store to purchase what I needed because we had no money.  Yet I knew that my little ones needed the necessary food items for their nutrition, for their growing little bodies.  I went downstairs to the food storage room and located an old worn out hand driven wheat grinder.  After a half hour of fighting with the grinder, I had managed to grind only ¾ of a cup of flour.  It was quite discouraging and I thought “this can’t do”.  It will not be possible for me to grind a sufficient amount for our needs, and we have no powdered milk either, to provide for the basic needs of our children.

My first inclination was to call my husband for help, but then I thought of our little girl, Shannon, age four, who was struggling with a brain tumor, and for whom all of our funds had been spent.  I thought of our car which had recently broken down and a dryer that needed to be repaired, both of which my husband had struggled to take care of.  And then with the pressures of his job and church callings…..well, I just couldn’t add more to my husband’s burdens.  I needed to find a way to resolve this dilemma myself.  What could I do?  Finding no solution, I knelt down on the cold concrete floor of the basement and poured out my heart and soul to my Heavenly Father.

“Please, Father, all we need is enough milk and bread to last until we are paid again.  Help me find a way….” Having done all I could, I then continued with my household chores, leaving the problem in Father’s hands.  A peaceful feeling filled my heart.  Somehow everything would work out.

It wasn’t but a few hours later that the doorbell rang, and I opened the door to see a Sister standing there.  She and her husband managed the Moab office of World Wide Expeditions.  “Elo” she explained, “this morning we had a river trip cancel.  We had several dozen loaves of bread in inventory that we were going to use for the trips that need to be cycled out of inventory.  I have been out and about giving the loaves away, and your name popped into my mind…. Have you any need for five loaves?”  She probably wondered why there were tears in my eyes, but I gratefully accepted the five loaves.  They would be more than sufficient to get us through until the next check arrived.  I knelt down and thanked Father for helping us in our hour of need.  After arising, it was but a few moments and the phone rang.  “Elo, this is Sister ……, I am on the WICK program and have been given four gallons of milk.  There is no way that we can use that much milk this week, and I hate to see it go to waste.  Could you use two gallons?”  I choked down a sob of gratitude, thanked her for thinking of us, and gratefully accepted the offering.  Once again, I knelt down and quietly thanked my Heavenly Father for his kindness in providing the miracle of Bread and Milk for our family.

Sister …..(ward chorister), the real miracle is us.  I thank Heavenly Father for kind sisters who were spiritually sensitive enough to respond to the promptings of the spirit that were an answer to a heartfelt prayer.  He knows us and he knows what we need.  I know there are latter-day miracles.  This was one.  I say this in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.”

Eloise made her way to her seat beside an astonished husband.  Her husband had never heard about this experience.  Sister …(who brought the bread), and Sister …(who brought the milk) were weeping openly.  Indeed, there was nary a dry eye in the building.  It has been my experience that the work of our Heavenly Father is largely accomplished through people who are sensitive to the spirit of the Lord.  Let us remember to strive to lift and inspire, and to follow the promptings we each receive in our various callings and stewardships.  We can be a miracle in the lives of those we serve.  I know this to be true.

Through faith and prayer, we can “hearken unto the spirit.”  In 2 Nephi 32: 8-9 it reads:  “And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.  But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.”

How is it that we can learn to pray always and to pray for every situation that we will ever face, good or bad?  My answer to the question is fairly simple.  I have always been taught that if I want to be good at something to practice it until I have mastered it.  So I suggest to you, to practice praying.  Let prayer become something that is second nature.  Talk to Heavenly Father through prayer like you would have a conversation with your best friend.  Pray just like the above-mentioned scripture says to “pray always.”  By speaking with Heavenly Father through prayer, we are letting him know that we want his help and guidance with that specific situation that we are praying about. We are letting him know that whatever decision that he makes, we realize that it is for the welfare of our soul and we are willing to be humble and submit to his decision as to how the situation will be handled whether it is to our liking or dislike.

Regardless of the outcome for which we prayed, we must have faith that Heavenly Father knows what is best and understands what is best for us even if we might disagree.  We are at least showing that we are faithfully willing to submit to him and at the same time through practice, we are becoming better at, and becoming our own masters of prayer.

Growing up I was taught to pray through example.  My Mother and Father knelt down to pray over the smallest, funniest things.  I guarantee that if my Mother had not been her own master of prayer through continuous repetition, that she might not have thought to pray for “bread and milk” and then this wonderful story would probably have never existed.  I love my Mom and Dad and know that they taught and raised me right by telling me to hearken unto the spirit and pray always.

Read about the 8 core principles that can lead to peace in your life and will help you draw closer to the Savior, Jesus Christ and be sure to share them with friends and family.