He hears and answers our prayers

One Saturday night I was out by the airport hoping to pick up an airport run or a quick inner-city run or two. You can rack up a lot of money with quick trips. I was on the phone with my wife talking to her when I got a call to go down to about 45th south. That’s quite a bit further than I wanted to go so I rejected the call. As I continued my conversation with my wife I got another call to go to south Bountiful. From where I was that was even further than 45th south and certainly further out of the way. I thought about canceling it and then the spirit told me not to.

I told my wife what was going on and headed off towards south Bountiful to figure out what the deal was.

When I got there a woman got into my car. She seemed like she was trying to be happy so I complimented her on that. I could see that she really wanted to be happy but that something was weighing her down. I asked her if she had something weighing her down. She said that she was on her way to an AA meeting. It always makes me feel good when someone’s going to an AA meeting because they’re trying to get better.

I could feel Gods love for her and his hope in her I felt the spirit and began recieving promptings about what to say. I followed those promptings. She told me she had some health issues and needed to get her addiction under control. I applauded her effort and told her that I was proud of her. I shared with her the addiction issues that my family has. I talked about my grandfather and my great grandfather and their alcoholism. I talked about the strength it must take to confront that.

I told her that one of the things I like about AA is it recognizes a higher power. I asked her if she knew why it was the AA had recognition of a higher power and spirituality as part of their program? She said she didn’t know.

I told her that the reason AA does this is because of the fact that on a minimal level they understand what we in the church know. I told her that each of us is created as a loved child of our father in heaven and that this relationship is the most central thing to our being, to our soul and to our heart. That relationship is manifest in us by feelings that we receive when we are in his presence.

I told her that like everything in life, Satan counterfeits this experience to exploit our needs, cravings and desire to be in the presence of God. Because we have a hole in our soul that needs to be filled with the spirit of God for us to feel whole. Satan uses drugs to fill that hole and artificially replicate that experience that is so natural and beautiful with our father in heaven. Much like his other cheap imitations in the end it tears you down and destroys you rather than build you up and exalts you.

It’s all about an evil counterfeit of the effects we feel in the presence of the Spirit of God.This is why the seven step program the church puts out relies on the atonement of Jesus Christ and its power to fill that hole.

I told her that in many instances when I served in the MTC doing interviews with missionaries when the spirit was very strong I would ask them to describe to me what the feeling that they were experiencing right then felt like. I did this so that they could learn to identify how those feelings felt inside of themselves and how to identify it so that they could better work with the spirit going forward.

I received a curious response a couple of times. Two sisters looked me in the eye and said it feels like I am high. The first time the shocked to me. It seemed so out of place but within seconds the spirit taught me the nature of what was happening and I explained to them that Satan counterfeits the spirit through unworthy means. I told her that I had also talked to friends of mine who told me that when they were high they felt like they were having the most spiritual experiences they’ve ever had outside of the church.

I told her because we need and crave the spirit of God, Satan gets a leg up and then presses his advantage into our addiction. The reason why it is so necessary to have the power of God in your life to overcome addiction is because if you fill that hole in your soul with the spirit, which is the thing that is intended to occupy that space, it makes it possible to overcome the physical craving.

She told me that this was the most accurate, concise and amazing description she’d ever heard about what she was going through. She said that it put into words all of her jumbled feelings and thoughts in a way that she could understand it. She said she knew that was true and that she felt warm and safe. I told her that she was feeling the influence of the Holy Ghost. When she felt this, her father in heaven was there and his Spirit was reaching out to her, to hug her and let her know he loved her very much.

I told her the worthy, baptized Members of our church have the gift of the Holy Ghost and it can fill this hole and give them a leg up in battling the physical dependance. She asked me if we had to pray to the Holy Ghost to get this. I told her that if we pray to God and do the things he asks he can send his spirit (Holly Ghost) to fill that hole.

I told her that I know it’s hard but that the atonement of Christ is the key. I sent her Doctrine and Covenants 122 and described what god told Joseph Smith about passing through tribulation and how Christ had experienced it all.

I told her that he had suffered all of the pain, all of the humiliation, all of the cravings, all of the infirmities and all of the sins of all of the people who ever lived or whoever will live at one time. The stress and pain of this caused the son of God to bleed from every pore. By going through this it makes it possible for christ to lift her.

She looked up and said “a lift, I like that”.

I chuckled and said I happen to write a blog called sometimes God send you a Lift. It’s about situations where God gives me the words to say, and I say them to people in my car. I told her that this is what had been happening in the car today and why she felt the spirit so strong. She said she hadn’t felt this good in years. She had to go to her meeting but asked me if I would send her the link to my blog. I said I would. She asked me if there’s anyway I could come and pick her up too. I asked her what time she got out. She said in an hour and I said I’ll be here! I sent her my blog url and drove off.

One hour later I was there to pick her up. When I did she said that spirit that was in the car had helped her be ready for the meeting. She said “ I am serious, I was all fired up and ready to go”.

I said, wouldn’t it be great to have that spirit with you all the time. She said yes! Then she wispered, I was baptized once. I had kind of figured this out based on the fact that she had told me she was from Orem. Actually her parents house were she grew up is in my stake. Her dad was a coach and I coached as well. Kind of knowing the situation I was not shocked to hear this.

She said that she was having some other health issues and recently had felt impressed that she needed to reach out to a bishop. She didn’t feel like he would meet with her though. I said, of course he’ll meet with you! That’s what he does. She said, well, I haven’t been very good. I said it’s his job to help you get better. I said he’s like a spiritual doctor only he makes less money! We both laughed. I said, you should reach out to your bishop.

Then she said, the last week I have just been praying very specifically that God would send me a lift using those exact words. Then tonight you show up, give me a lift, with a message to lift me, tailored to me and a blog that’s called sometimes God sends you a Lift.

I told her that the miracle doesn’t end there. I told her about how I had rejected the other drive at first but had accepted her ride even though it was less advantageous to me. I told her I believe that was I was guided by the spirit. She then told me that she had requested the ride and had been rejected herself by the previous driver before I was assigned. She said that now she saw the hand of God in all of it.

I said, do you feel the spirit now? She said yes, I feel those same feelings I felt before only more intense. She said I know God is here with us and I love how it feels. I asked her what her next step should be. She said she needed to figure out how to go to church so she can talk to her bishop. I asked what she meant by figure out how to go to church. She said it had been decades since she’s been to church, she didn’t know where to go or how to go about it.

I looked up and towering at the end of her street was a very large church house. I said, I’ll bet we start right there.

I entered her address into the meetinghouse locator and it came up with that exact church as her church with meetings at noon the next day. It also had the name of her bishop and his phone number. I said, “this would be enough to get you started!” She laughed and promised that she would do it. She said that there was no way she could deny that God was reaching out to her.

I agreed with her and said look at what you’ve had happen. First God inspired you to reach out to your bishop to get help and you didn’t do it. Then you prayed for a lift and God sent a messenger to your door. What more can you want as proof. I don’t know how you could need more evidence that God loves you and he wants you home. By now she was teared up and said she would go to church the next day. She said that this was more than enough and when God sends angels you better listen.

She asked me if I was going to write a blog story about her. I said absolutely but that I wouldn’t use her name. She said, that’s good but I want you to know you have permission to use my story and I will continue to read your blog. She got out of the car and seemed very happy and like a great weight has been lifted from her shoulders.