Searching For Answers

I've recently read a talk given by S. Michael Wilcox. It's an amazing talk that really inspired me to have a greater and more true faith. Here's my favorite excerpts from it:

"When I was younger, I often read Jesus’ promise regarding prayer: “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). I thought this meant I would get what I wanted if I simply believed strongly enough. But there was always a doubt in my mind, and I felt the doubt showed lack of faith. I knew the Lord could grant my requests, but would He? I was trying to manufacture faith in a request instead of in the grantor of the request. While our requests of God may be righteous, our faith must be in a being, and that being is merciful and kind and delights in the happiness of His children. We have the assurance that the Father we address in prayer “giveth liberally.” But there are also times when all we desire is not granted. Knowing the character of our Father in Heaven, we can be assured in these cases that His wisdom is best, and we demonstrate our continued faith in Him by accepting His answers."

"...Before he went into the Sacred Grove, the Prophet Joseph Smith’s “mind was called up to serious reflection” (JS—H 1:8). I believe our Heavenly Father anticipates that we will reflect seriously about the concerns we bring to Him. This lesson was taught to the brother of Jared when the Lord asked him to ponder the problem of light in the barges (see Ether 2:22–25; Ether 3:1–6; Ether 6:2–3). Sometimes when I pray, I can imagine the Lord saying, “What do you think about the matter?” There is something very humbling in knowing He really does care what we think. Perhaps this is what Alma meant when he taught his son Helaman to “counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good” (Alma 37:37; emphasis added). Serious reflection allows me to bring something to our counseling session when I approach my Father in prayer."

"...When life’s answers don’t match our expectations, it is important to realize that the Lord “doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world” (2 Ne. 26:24)."

"...One of the greatest lessons I have learned from the First Vision is the need to act on the answers God gives us. The Lord can shape and transform our lives when we are willing to respond. But when He answers, will we believe? Can we meet the challenges the answer may bring? Are we willing to testify of the truths we receive? Will we follow the Lord’s counsel? Our responses to these questions largely determine the life-changing efficacy of our communication with our Father in Heaven."

The italicized portions are the portions that really hit me the most. I feel like I've come to a crossroads in my life, and have been searching for an answer as to what path I should take. As I've prayed about this decision and studied it out logically as well as spiritually, I've felt at peace with my realization that I need finish up my last bit of school and then focus on my career right now...and that God will direct me otherwise if I need to be somewhere else. Reading this talk this morning really reaffirmed that and made me realize what an amazing sense of peace and comfort comes from God when we truly have faith in Him. Gosh I love morning scripture/talk study :)