Answers to Prayers

This isn't a new story for most people who know me.  I share it sometimes, as it comes up in conversations during Sunday School and Relief Society.  But it's something I do think about a lot.  It's an experience I had in college that proved to me beyond the shadow of a doubt that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, and that He loves us.

I went to college at Utah State University in Logan, UT.  I lived just off campus, but on the hill the campus was on.  I did not have a car during college, so I walked most places I needed to go.  This resulted in the frequent occurrence of friends pulling over and giving me rides to wherever I was walking to.

About once a week I walked to the temple to do an Endowment session.  I didn't have a set time that I went. I would just pick a day and time during the week and go.  I usually chose a time when I had a good three to four hours blocked out.  Between the two hour session and the walk to and from the temple, it wasn't uncommon for me to need nearly four hours.

The day this happened, it was really important to me that I make the session that started at a certain time.  I don't remember why it was so important.  I don't remember if I had something going on or if I just didn't want to wait in the waiting room for the next session to start.  I just remember how important it was to me to make that particular session.  For some reason I was a little later getting started down the hill on the road to the temple than usual.  I remember praying with my whole heart that I'd be able to get to the temple in time for this session that I wanted so badly.  Deep down I was praying for a ride.  On the surface I was praying to be able to walk fast enough.

As an answer to my prayer, my friend Julie pulled over and gave me a ride the rest of the way to the temple. I made the session I wanted to make, and things were great.  After the session I was sitting in the Celestial room.  A college aged young man came and sat next to me after a few minutes.  It's very uncommon to sit with strangers in the Celestial room because most people don't talk.  It's a sacred place, and most people sit and ponder.  So I was surprised that someone I didn't know was sitting next to me.  After exchanging a few pleasantries, he told me he needed to apologize to me.  Then he told me that he had seen me walking to the temple.  He knew I was going to the temple because I had my temple bag (the bag with my temple clothes in it).  Then he said that he had felt he needed to pull over and give me a ride, but he hadn't.  When he saw me in the session, he realized that he had been prompted to give me a ride, but had ignored it.

That was such a testimony to me.  Our Heavenly Father knew it was important to me to make that session.  He prompted someone to give me a ride so I could get there in time.  When that person didn't follow the prompting, He prompted a SECOND person to answer my prayer.

Never feel like your prayers go unanswered.  We may not get the answers that we want, or answers that we see, but we never go unheard.