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Can one really receive a definite answer to a prayer? If so how do you really know it is God answering. I have had so called spiritual experiences that turned out very badly when I followed what I thought was the correct thing to do. I have made decisions in my life based on what I thought were answers to prayers that did not work out as promised. Are all these spiritual experiences false and just made up in my head. I seem to do much better when I just use common sense and my intelligence to chart a course in life. Someone else may have said this elsewhere but I’m firmly in the camp that common sense and intelligence are on equal footing with “inspiration”. Common sense is a type of “inspiration”. Intelligence is a type of “inspiration”. I think the key to any type of “inspiration” is honesty with oneself. Understanding and being honest with ourselves about our current emotional health, often allows us to be “inspired” in “true” ways. Open heart and open mind. I see that as emotional health and honest self-reflection. For me, that’s been the most important key to discovering “inspiration”. Along with my own personal belief that life is to be lived and mistakes are lessons to be learned just as important as discovering what’s “right” via “inspiration”. Growth and progression come through experiences as much or more than through inspiration. I think we need both.
Two Comments. Intuition:
I think it is good to use both intellect and “spirit,” spirit being a label we use for intuitive and transcendent thought/feeling. Both right-brained thinking and our deeply powerful subconscious mind, which is in fact the vast majority of our constant brain function, process and synthesize vast amounts of relationship information. This is almost entirely done outside of our logical, conscious thought world. It would be wonderful if every possible variable in our life could be known, measured and managed, but it can’t. We MUST make leaps of faith at times. Also, some of the most amazing and beautiful things happen through intuitive thinking and action. To try and cut this off or eliminate it from our life is missing out on an important chunk of the human experience in my opinion.
Expectations:
I think a large part of the dissonance we experience with answers to prayers and/or failed intuition is our expectations. I think we end up disappointed if we rely on intuitive thinking or personal revelation to tell us factual truth about the material world. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. I have experienced both. I’m not saying it isn’t worth pursuing, but we have to be open to the experience and not hold to expectations about the results. Intuition leads us places we would never go intellectually. We learn more from failure than success. Being open to the surprises IS in fact the valuable lesson. Attachment to the outcomes we want is what causes the dissonance.
In summary, I think we can use prayer and personal revelation from God in our human experience. Regardless of what this really is, I think it is important to use it. It’s a tool in the toolbox of our essence as spiritual beings. Using it to pick stocks on Wallstreet will probably be disappointing, but perhaps some people need that lesson. Using it to explore our divinity, our internal conversation with the world around us, and explore spirituality, that will seldom disappoint as we hone and sharpen our expectations. That is “eternal progress” in the Mormon sense.
I just happened to see a book today titled “What God Can’t Do: How to Pray for Real Answers” or something like that. I think it really does matter what you are praying for, and I believe that prayers like the following are (eventually) answered in deeply satisfactory ways: Oh God, if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee.
- Lord, is it I [at fault]?
- Lead thou me on.
- I thank thee that I have….
p.s. Valoel is spot on. This is not trivial.
I have had a few amazing experiences with prayer – and FAR, FAR more that were mundane – and some that were confusing – and a few that were wrong in hindsight. The amazing ones make all the others worth it.
Well, I am still working on this one myself. Sometimes I feel I have a case in my head for both sides of the argument. In fact, this week I had a blessing from a HTer. I couldn’t decide if it was revelation or the fiction this man had bought into or some combination of both. I found myself in the turmoil of being pulled in both directions and finding myself painfully unsure. I have spoken of my concern to God and my DH. I have had deep conversations with myself as I try to make the decision between these two compelling arguments. I think that the answer is I have to make a choice. I have to master the doubt. Having the doubt, I am learning, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It provides needed adversity. I am becoming convinced that God is trying to not only get us to trust Him, but to trust ourselves too. Satan, of course, is trying to destroy both. This process of building faith is an interesting one. God doesn’t give the light to us until after we choose to discipline our thoughts in the way of faith. I am doing that with this blessing and the conversation with my HTer that followed. I can see now where the revelation started and where it ended. I can see that certain parts were unknowable to this man before the blessing began. But I can also see how he inserted his interpretations which were inaccurate.
Do I know absolutely that I am right? No, but I think so. But I feel I have done the best I could and I am waiting for God to meet me on the other side of my best efforts and faithfilled choices. And maybe I won’t be absolutely sure this go round. And maybe I’ll look back and see my mistakes. But I don’t think those mistakes matter as much as the determination to keep walking forward and using this process of faith and prayer and discernment. We may stumble up parts of the mountain, but we still can reach great plateaus and enjoy beautiful momentary views. And then we get back on the trail and start hiking again.
swimordie wrote:Someone else may have said this elsewhere but I’m firmly in the camp that common sense and intelligence are on equal footing with “inspiration”. Common sense is a type of “inspiration”. Intelligence is a type of “inspiration”. I think the key to any type of “inspiration” is honesty with oneself. Understanding and being honest with ourselves about our current emotional health, often allows us to be “inspired” in “true” ways.
Open heart and open mind. I see that as emotional health and honest self-reflection. For me, that’s been the most important key to discovering “inspiration”. Along with my own personal belief that life is to be lived and mistakes are lessons to be learned just as important as discovering what’s “right” via “inspiration”. Growth and progression come through experiences as much or more than through inspiration. I think we need both.
Well put, Swimordie.I agree that the choices and finding answers are about our personal growth and finding happiness. Literal inspiration as thoughts or impressions put in my head from God can happen, and have happened in my life, where I believe I did not just make them up in my head, but were put there by a power outside of myself. However, that happens infrequently in my experience.
Most times, the idea of praying or meditating and coming up with thoughts or flashes of inspiration that are all in my head are all that I need to solve my questions or problems, in other words…if I have the knowledge and capability for new ideas already…why does God need to intervene? I think most times this is the case for me, we have all we need, and just need to be reassured we are doing ok on our current path. If I feel my prayer is not answered, it is likely because I don’t need an answer from God that I can find on my own.
Like swim said, I think common sense and growing our own intelligence through reading and studying are valid tools to find truth. Pure inspiration or revelation is another tool, but is not always needed when we have the answers already within us.
All of that is still good enough for me to believe the journey is about gaining experience, whether or not my prayers are answered or not…it is more about what direction I’m heading in.
I hope that makes sense.
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