“The prayers of the faithful shall be heard” (2 Nephi 26:15).   “And he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed” (D&C 42:47).

In 1945 I was admitted to a naval hospital in San Diego, California, grievously burned. Here's how it happened. A pan of milk had boiled over on the stove. My mother jumped up and ran to the stove. Curious, I followed close behind, ran into the pan as she jerked it off the stove, and spilled the boiling contents all down the front of me.

That first night in the hospital a team of doctors were consulting around my bed; their verdict was they had done all they could do; with the extent of tissue damage and an alarmingly high fever I couldn't possibly live through the night. Little did they know that the orderly in my room who overheard the whole conversation was my father. He had been drafted into the navy, and Mother and I were in San Diego visiting him.

After the doctors left the room my faithful father poured out his heart to the Lord. He knew of no other elder he could get to help administer to me, so he did it himself. He reminded the Lord that they had lost a beautiful 3 ½ year-old son shortly before my birth and that my presence gave them solace and comfort. He begged the Lord to spare my life if I had a work yet to do and it was not my time to go. His heart-felt desperate prayer was answered. To the doctors' amazement they found my condition stable the next morning. My temperature was almost normal. My body was miraculously healing. They could never explain why I did not need skin grafts, and they called me their miracle baby. All through my growing up years my parents reminded of this answer to prayer frequently, stressing their belief that the Lord had work for me to do.

I give thanks to the Lord for sparing my life and
allowing me the varied and rich experiences of mortality.

*

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and He will direct they paths.” (Psalm 4)

In 1963, my prayer for guidance and direction and comfort were answered at a point when I felt very lost. I had been engaged to be married since I was seventeen — a decision my parents went along with only because my fiancé was committed to serving a mission. For a year and a half I helped him prepare, then waited faithfully the whole two years he was gone. I sent my missionary frequent encouraging letters and booklets of uplifting thought and scriptures for every day of the year. I had total faith that this relationship would work out. We had the date set for our marriage — the Christmas after his return.

At the very end of his mission all my dreams were shattered in a way I could never have guessed. I had no clue where to go from there. My whole focus had been on preparing to be a wife and mother. My trust in the Lord and myself was shaken, but I prayed hard to understand. The Lord answered me partly through a dear friend who said, “Was it good for you to be engaged? Think of all the blessings that have come to you because you believed this would work out. Could the Lord have said to you, 'This engagement will a healthy thing for you that will greatly encourage your growth, so I want you to stay engaged and believe in it even though it will not work out in the end.'?”

The light dawned and I continued my college courses in Child Development and Home Management and prayed constantly for new direction. Over time, it became clear in my mind that the Lord wanted me to serve a mission — a thought that had never occurred to me because I had expected to marry just before I turned twenty-one. I moved ahead toward the goal of a mission and knew it was right. Suddenly my life had great purpose again, and my mission turned out to be full of mountain-top experiences and personal growth. My decision to serve was one of the best decisions I ever made!

I give thanks to the Lord for answering my prayers and
giving me the comfort and direction I needed at a crucial point in my life.

*

Over the years, my life continued to be blessed by prayer. I received answers to prayers in regard to children, church assignments, and health challenges. I felt that my prayers for our safety brought us through many tight places and close calls.

In the example of my father's prayer for my life, the answer was given dramatically, and almost immediately. In my prayers for direction and comfort the answer became clear gradually, over a period of weeks.  Sometimes answers come after months or years of asking. But in the Lord's perfect time-table, the answer always comes at just the right time.

“I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not see; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. (Ether 12:6)

After my divorce I was in very tight straights financially and needed very badly to sell our maxi-van. I ran ads and got a few inquiries, but no sale. Finally, one Saturday, I was down to the wire.  At midnight my insurance expired as well as the registration. I didn't have the resources to renew either one, and desperately needed the money from the sale for family expenses. At 7:00 p.m., an Indian family came to my door. They had seen my ad and were looking for a van. There were eight of them crammed into a small car. They were on their way to North Dakota and had frantically tried to find a van they could afford, to no avail. They had to leave within the hour. They were excited about our van, and we struck a deal. They paid cash, we went to a friend's house who was a notary and had the title transferred. Soon they were happily on their way with plenty of room for everyone to travel comfortably. Since they were driving across state lines they would have 30 days to take care of the new registration, etc. I knelt by my bed that night in a prayer of great thanksgiving and wonder at how the Lord takes care of His children — sometimes at the very last minute!

I give thanks that the Lord watched over us, and after my faith was tried,
answered my prayers by meeting the needs of another family.

*

“Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name; And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you. ( 3 Nephi 18:19-20)

Not long after the car incident, I began praying for a good job. I had not been job hunting for two decades and the very thought of it terrified me. I had fallen into an office job for a doctor I went to, but it didn't pay much and I had to find something full time and steady. I began praying fervently about what to do. I knew my limitations — and they are many. My résumé would have looked pathetic to most employers, but I had a few strengths. How could I find a job that would utilize them?

A few weeks after I started praying about a job, the owner of Covenant Communications called me on the phone.  I had written the back jacket copy for several inspirational talk tapes I had recorded for Covenant, and he mentioned how much he had like what I had written and that he liked the book I had written. I had also sold Covenant ads in Latter-day Woman magazine and he knew of my editorial and writing work on that magazine. He asked me to come in and talk to him about a job.

Much to my amazement, he offered me a full-time job to start his book division. I would be editing books and tapes, writing the jacket and ad copy for all his products, etc. He said my name had come to him forcefully when he had been pondering his need for another employee. The job would double my income and I was oh, so excited, but had a lot of fear. Because of my limited experience I didn't feel fully qualified. He gave me a couple of days to consider it, and as soon as I went back to the Lord and asked Him about this job opening, I knew it was right for me — nothing short of a blessing straight from Him.

I learned so much from that job and the people I worked with. It was the best kind of job I could possibly have wished for; I worked with inspirational and religious material, and gifted and spiritual authors and artists. I was able to learn the LDS book market and hone my writing and editing skills that would prove to be so important to the rest of my life.

I thank the Lord for this amazing answer to prayer —
that my boss was open to the prompting that told him I would be a good employee,
and that he followed that prompting and offered me a job.

*

More recently, one of the most important answers to prayers I ever received was having my son Brian come back to the family after he had estranged himself from us for five years. Eight years later, in the aftermath of Brian's death, only answered prayers have given me peace, hope, and reassurance. Because I've written previously about these things, and because this article is already getting long, I won't go into detail about these great prayer blessings.

My Testimony of Prayer

I thank the Lord for my testimony of prayer. I know there is an all-wise and all-caring Father listening to me up there. I know that He hears me when I pray, that He hears the desires of my heart I cannot utter because the words get all tangled up in my mind and don't seem to come out right. I thank Him for understanding my true intentions. I thank Him for finding the most exquisite ways to answer prayers — often so much better, so much different than anything I could have thought to ask for. I thank Him for always being available, for listening, caring, responding — in His own way, in His own time — which is always the right way and the right time.

Prayer is my best source of comfort and peace — sometimes the only source. It insulates me from the powers of Satan who would destroy me, and brings me back in the light when I've been in darkness. It reminds me what life is all about — whose we are and what we're doing in this mortal sphere.

At this Thanksgiving time, I think a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants summarizes it all: “But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally, …doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving” (D&C 36:7). Prayer and thanksgiving are inseparable. For nothing should our hearts be more grateful this Thanksgiving season than the blessed assurance that God answers prayers — that we are not alone to stumble through the mires of mortality.  I'm grateful for my testimony that He responds in whatever way and time is for our best welfare now and in the eternities.

I thank the Lord for the power of prayer,
for the sweetest assurance of knowing that God is mindful of us,
that he hears the words of our lips, the thoughts of our minds
and the yearning of our hearts.

*

A Poem of Thanksgiving and Faith

I wish I knew who wrote the following wonderful prayer poem that someone sent me on the Internet. God bless them wherever they are. It seems just right for this Thanksgiving season to end my article giving thanks for prayer.

Our Father who art in heaven
    we are your people, the work of your hands,
    we praise your greatness,
    we celebrate your goodness,
    we remember the story of your love.

We pray that your Kingdom may come
    so that it may free us from fear and darkness.

We pray that your Kingdom may come
    so that it may heal our brokenness,
    and bring peace in your creation.

Give us wisdom to understand your will and your presence
    especially when we are hurt by the unexpected,
    when we are confused by what’s happening to us,
    when we search for meaning in the midst of our losses,
    when we are trapped by our emotions.

Give us confidence to thank you for your daily gifts
    we so often take for granted:
    the gift of food that provides nourishment for our bodies,
    the gift of beauty that provides nourishment for our minds,
    the gift of love that provides nourishment for our spirits,
    the gift of faith that sustains us,
    the gift of friends that comforts us,
    the gift of every color in your creation that brightens our day,

Help us to forgive each other as you forgive us:
    you cleanse away our resistance
    and bring your light into our sleepy souls.

Help us to reach out to others,
    to become healing instruments in your world,
    to build bridges rather than walls in your creation.

Amen.
(Author Unknown)

May this prayer be answered in behalf of us all. Happy Thanksgiving, beloved Meridian readers!

Your faithful friend,
Darla

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