If you are not sure you even believe in God, start there. Understand that in the absence of experiences with God, one can doubt the existence of God. So, put yourself in a position to begin having experiences with Him. Humble yourself. Pray to have eyes to see God’s hand in your life and in the world around you. Ask Him to tell you if He is really there—if He knows you. Ask Him how He feels about you. And then listen.
This quote from President Nelson has been on my mind a lot. Whether or not our faith is strong, we all need to regularly be in a position to have experiences with God. His influence has been a peaceful, steadying hand in my life. Despite relative ease or difficulty in my own life, I have felt that peace and love best when I have regularly done things which are conducive to communing with Deity and attempted to listen for the feelings and answers that have come.
When I was about 15 years old and at scout camp, I prayed about a good deal of questions I had at the time. Immediately after praying, I climbed into my cot to go to sleep. The cot was comfortable, but I could not sleep; I later felt impressed that I couldn't sleep because the Spirit was answering my prayers, but I was not listening. I have since learned that I need to attune myself to receive answers to the prayers I offer in order to comprehend what I am being taught. Things that help me pay attention for answers include:
- Being quiet and seeking quiet places. So much of life is busyness and noise, and I have found stilling myself and my thoughts to be very valuable.
- Comparing the choices that I am considering and paying attention to how I feel in relation to each one. I have found that answers from God usually are associated with feelings of peace, clarity, righteousness, and love.
- Considering what I can do to solve the situation on my own. Some things are completely out of my control, and the best I can do to exercise faith is to trust the Lord.
- Look for answers in the Word of God that is readily available to me and what I already know; if the commandments are clear on a subject, or on 70% of the choice I am making, then I should start there and look for inspiration to fill in the gaps.
- Study the scriptures. I have found that reading the scriptures, conference talks, and other uplifting materials helps me be more in tune with the Spirit and therefore better able to recognize the hand of God in my life.
- Do good. Serving others has helped me find countless blessings in my own life, as well as increase the love that I have. Everything about service makes it easier for me to recognize the divine in life.
- Repent. Nothing separates us from contact with God like sin does. Fortunately, I do not have to be perfect in order to feel His love or otherwise commune with Him (if I did, then I wouldn't know anything about Him.). However, continually trying to be better makes it easier to understand and recognize when the Lord is directing my life.
- Write in a journal. My mother taught me the importance of writing in a journal. I need to improve in my consistency, but I've found that writing in a journal helps me carefully think through my life and the experiences I'm having. It makes it easier to recognize inspiration, and writing about what I can recognize often helps me understand further and see clearer.
