Gospel Q&A is a series from LDS Daily that strives to answer important gospel questions from readers. Today, we’ll be answering the question, “What do I do when I need a miracle or divine intervention?” Do you have a question you’d like to see answered? Send us an email at calledtoshare@ldsdaily.com or leave it in the comments below.
What Do I Do When I Need a Miracle or Divine Intervention?
For starters, I want to express heartfelt love and concern for anyone asking this question. It is raw and real and speaks of true faith in the midst of true struggle. You are right that our God CAN, but how do we know He WILL?
This question is actually asking several questions about need versus want, our own will versus the will of the Lord, and of course, faith.
Let’s dig into the word of the Lord for help.
Patience
A verse in Hebrews is promising and reminds us that patience is a key element when seeking heaven’s help. It says simply that we might receive the blessing we look for if we are patient and do the will of God.
“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36)
Sometimes, patience (and continuing in the will of the Father—more on that in a moment) is truly all that is required. The blessing we seek is available, just not yet. That’s encouraging.
Still, sometimes the blessing we seek requires more of us.
Faith
Faith is also required for the miracle, as seen here in Daniel.
“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18)
Daniel had faith to be saved, but he also had the faith to not be saved—meaning he would remain faithful and submissive to the will of the Lord even if it did not match his own will.
We don’t know, however, how long we may be required to do the will of God before we receive the blessing. In this case, we have to remember that God sees our lives differently than we do and His timeline is different than our own.
The Will of the Father
Faith, however, is not the only factor either. Who could be more faithful than the Savior himself? And yet when He asked, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me,” the cup was not removed, and Christ did endure drinking that bitter cup.
Christ understands the relationship between exercising faith and submitting to the Father’s will because he finished with “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
The arrival of the miracle, therefore, is dependent on our patience and faith, but also on what is the will of God. Sometimes He informs us through His Spirit as to what His will is, but sometimes He doesn’t. Above all, we trust He has a plan for us and that it will ultimately be greater than the plan we had for ourselves.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin promised, “While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.”
The blessing we seek will come! Or it won’t. And instead, we will be given a hundredfold the blessing we sought–in God’s own time.
Don’t Leave Blessings on the Table
Sometimes, we are submissive to the will of the Father without exercising any faith in Him. We feel or behave as though He will do whatever He will do, regardless of our role in it. But that is not so. Lacking the faith to ask and act according to the blessings we seek means we leave blessings on the table that He would have given to us, if only we had had the faith to ask for it.
Matthew 7:9-12 reads, “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
The Lord has a good gift for you—ask and ye shall receive it. It might not be the gift you thought you needed, but He gives the best gifts, and if you are patient, faithful, and you ask, He has a gift for you–and it will be everything you really need.
Disclaimer: While all of my answers will use scriptures and/or words of modern prophets, I do not represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don’t believe any of my answers are comprehensive. I’m just one person using the gospel I have been blessed with to bring hope, peace, and answers to other seekers of truth.
