My First Experience with Mighty Prayer

Hey guys, sorry for not blogging last week, time just went by ha.
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Hymns #140  Did You Think to Pray?

I'll get back to that hymn later on in this post :)

Alright, so I thought I would share about my first experience when I truly didn't felt invisible from my Heavenly Father, that he knew me, he knew this 16 year old young man, that he knew who I was, he knew my trials and that He really did cared for me. this is my experience of the very first time when I prayed and actually got a answer back. It was a very special moment, when His spirit was so strong, that I felt a overwhelming feeling of warmth. My second experience with prayer is the one I had on Trek, some of you may have  already read it, but if you haven't, here's the Link

I was going through a pretty rough time, it was about having Asperger's, and feeling totally alone, In my teen years of 14-16. I did had some people from my ward I would talk to, but it still felt like I never could actually connect with them, I didn't told anyone about having Asperger's until I was 17.
I would tell myself that I was some weird person or a freak, that was why no one would really talk to me that much, that was why no one really wanted to sit next to me in Sunday School, (Please note, that some people would sit by me in Sunday School) only 2-3 people out of a class of 10-12?.
I remember when Priest Quorum came along, me and my friend Spencer would always try to sit next to each other, and I really appreciate that (He was my first friend I told about having Asperger's)

I would hide my emotions, I would put a smile on my face like nothing was wrong, but deep down, I felt rejected at times, I felt like a nobody, a couple of times I didn't even want to go into my Sunday School class, I wanted to skip it all together. I remember when I was 14 or 15, one of those years, I had a teacher in Sunday School and one week she just said how "Every week, there's somebody that comes into class and always sits by himself" as she said that, she got pretty emotional about it. I felt all eyes on me, and for a couple of weeks, some people would sit next to me, but it didn't last that long.

Every year I would keep everything inside, got to the point when my bottle of emotions was about to burst open, in 2009 (I was 16) I was taking a home school class with another home school family (They were LDS too, I'm still friends with the family) from in town. one day when I was at class, I remember when my teacher asked me if everything was alright. I guess I was looking pretty down and even quieter then normal, as if I can get even more quieter?.  I just said that I  was good, but it was hard to say those words, without breaking down, but I managed it nonetheless.

Then this Sunday... this Sunday exploded that bottle, I was in Sunday School class. sitting by myself, a guy walked into the classroom, said "Where should I sit down?" asking the class as a whole where he should sit down, one of the girls said you could sit by Michael. this guy just said "Nah, I don't want to sit by Michael" now, this may seems harmless, you all may be thinking "So what?" but after years of keeping everything inside, hearing those words, I almost broke down in Sunday School, I wanted to get up, and leave the room. I just wanted out, but instead I just stayed seated, and stared down at the ground, I have thought of that moment a couple of times, more so now as I'm writing this blog post. I had the thought of getting up, leaving the room. also had the thought of getting up, punching the guy, and leaving the room, but I choose just to stay seated, which was probably the best opinion out of those three.


That evening, when I got home, or a couple days after that Sunday, I literally broke down, I remember the time, I do not remember what day it was, but the time was 12am, at midnight. I was out in the living room, I couldn't sleep, I just needed help, so I went out into the living room with my set of scriptures. You've probably heard of those stories, when somebody is going through a really tough time and they open up their scriptures and amazingly  enough find some verses that jumps out to them, during their trials. I thought that would happen with me. So there I was, closing my scriptures, opening them randomly, repeating that time after time, but that was not working. It started to get hard to see, just because of the tears, I then remembering something from church, this was actually pretty close to a General Conference (I'm pretty sure it was the April session coming up) but a teacher shared a story of somebody he knew, that said a prayer before a General Conference, the person did not get the answer to their prayer from a talk, but rather from a song.. so I remember that, so when I went out into the living room, I actually had a copy of the hymn book. after opening my scriptures for a couple of minutes, trying to find some help. I then said a prayer.

It wasn't a casual prayer I usually did, but rather a prayer of pleading for help, so far in my life, the most spiritual experiences with prayer is when I have no where else to turn, and I literally plead to my Heavenly Father, I beg him to help me.... and He has answered.
 I pleaded with my Heavenly Father, I needed help, that I felt alone, tears were streaming down my face.

Enos 1:4 comes to mind "And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens."

I cried unto my  Heavenly Father, in mighty prayer.. tears running down my face as I was saying this prayer, begging, pleading for help, it was at this moment, when I felt a overwhelming feeling of warmth. I felt as like I was embraced into a hug, I heard a voice in my head "140" I open up my scriptures, searched for anything involving the number 140, I went to the page numbers of "140" nothing really stood out at all, with my eyes still fresh from a rain storm, I looked at the hymn book.. I picked it up, turned to "140" the hymn was "Did You Think to Pray?" I looked at it, and I literally laughed to myself, I was like "Yeah, that's what I'm doing now, I did prayed"  but then I looked at the lyrics.

(Chorus)
Oh, how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day.
So, when life gets dark and dreary,
Don't forget to pray.

3. When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was full of sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?
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The feeling I got after reading the Chorus and 3rd verse, that I knew He answers prayers, that He knew who I was, what I was going through,  I felt loved, I felt His hug. It was such a powerful experience. I haven't been in that state for awhile now, when I was so broken down like that. My Senior year during Sunday School was a lot better, but I'll share that for a different post, on another day.

A friend of mine, named Paul, I met him in the summer of 2008, I was 15 at the time. at the time he was 24 or 25, around there.. He went to a overnight camp out with my friend Spencer and Spencer's brothers, he was subbing as one of our leaders I think. but anyways, we talked late into the night, the group of us, we were just laying down on a tarp talking and staring up at the night sky.
That was the same overnight camp out where I went to a store and bought doughnuts and candy so I could feel like I was "part" of the group, that'd people would like to talk to me. which now thinking of it, is kind of silly of me, because Spencer was a friend of mine, and his brothers, but I still felt disconnected to people. Skip over to a couple weeks later, I was talking to Paul on gchat and previously he said that "I was great" I asked him, if Spencer had told him about me, because why else would he said I was great?. This is what he had to say to that.

 Michael, nearly everything I know about you I learned in person.

When I first met you, I got the impression that you have been labeled and judged, and that part of you struggled to feel accepted.

I also was able to discern great things about you; your sincerity, your integrity, how valiant you are, and how strong you are.

I would say that there are many, many things which I can see in you which you cannot see in yourself.

I saw those things the day that I met you.

You might think that this is some kind of trick or something, but Michael, think about it.

No one assigned me to be nice to you.

Being a friend to you doesn't make me money, help my grades, get me a girlfriend, or make me more popular.

But it makes me happy.

Because I know something of who you are.
That is why I am a friend to you.

Michael, this is no trick. This is reality. There is no hidden agenda here.
The whole world may have told you that you aren't good enough, but if they have, the whole world was wrong.

You were always good enough.

It is too bad that people do and say the things that they do.

They just don't know what they are doing.

The day will come when they know who you are, then they will wish that things had been different.

Of course, then again, the day will come when you know who you are, and then you will finally realize why the Steeles befriended you, why I befriended you.

I don't believe that you really believe in who you are yet.

But you are on the right path.

Just don't doubt yourself so much.

Your doubt only slows you down.

You have been placed in some of the best circumstances that have ever existed for a son of God since this earth was created.

He put you here to make a difference.

You need to believe in yourself in order to make that difference.
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In closing, prayer is real, mighty prayer is real. God knows who you are, what you're going through. He loves you. I'm so thankful for every friend I have today, it means a lot to me.

Endure to the end, stay strong in the Gospel and you won't regret it