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Receiving Answers to Our Prayers
We all need help from the Lord in every area of our lives, and one vital key to receiving that help is prayer. In Receiving Answers to Our Prayers, Elder Cook examines some of the most important principles and practices of prayer, which the Lord has taught us through scripture and through living prophets. By illustrating those principles through examples and many true-life stories, he shows that the Lord does answer prayers and suggests ways we can become more receptive to the answers the Lord sends. Elder Cook focuses on the difficult question of why answers do not always come in ways we expect and what we can do then to increase our faith.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
April 13, 2023
Really good book. I remember we had an option to listen the audio tape of this book on my mission and I never did. But I remember my mission president referring to lessons and stories from it. Jumped out at me recently and I thought I’d give it a read. Felt like all the stories of successful answers to prayers were inspiring. If a little Pollyanna-ish through most of the book. But I appreciated his insights into how to handle the situations where the prayers don’t seem answered and how not to give up in our faith. This nuance came later in the book and was worth holding out for. I need the positive experiences and they do help to strengthen my faith. But being able to pick up some hope for the times when the answers don’t seem to come in the way I’m expecting…that was very helpful. A few highlights:
p.4-‘You know, Dad, I guess it doesn’t matter how deep the grass is, does it? The Lord knows where the wallet is.’ Then he added, ‘Actually, you could double or triple it, if you wanted. It really wouldn’t matter, because He knows, doesn’t He?’
p.10-we live far below our possibilities in working with the Lord. We’re too quick to turn to our own strength and not rely on him.
p.147-He did, but he wasn’t absolutely sure what the answer meant. Many times that’s the way answers to prayers come to us. Then, as I mentioned before, we have an opportunity to increase our faith even more than if the answer had come clearly. The key is to not harden your heart, to not be angry with the Lord, and to not, in disbelief, think that he did not answer your prayer. When we have a prayer that doesn’t seem to be answered, do we doubt the Lord?
p.148-When our prayers are not answered the way we’d hoped, how do we respond? I believe that no exercise of faith and prayer is wasted, even if the desired result is not obtained. Every such exercise helps us to grow and develop in most important spiritual ways, and we thereby become more prepared to seek and receive answers to prayers on future occasions. Because we had tried to ‘double our faith’ when we had ‘failed’ to avoid the inducing of labor, the Lord had truly increased our faith. This earlier, ‘easy’ experience had helped to prepare us to have sufficient faith to face the difficult challenge the mission was now facing. When you face ‘failure’ in prayer, if you will respond by praying more, love the Lord more, trusting more, asking again, and refusing to give up, your faith will be rewarded.
p.153-The Lord reveals his will many times in half steps. He does this so that we will be pressed into exercising faith in order to receive the next step. We might think of this principle as walking to the edge of the light.
p.154-Will you continue to press forward? Will you pay the price until you’ve received the blessing from the Lord (or until he tells you it’s no longer his will that you seek it)? Do these things and you will endure the trials well, and you’ll be that much closer to receiving the blessing you seek.
This last one hit home on the ‘until he tells you it’s no longer his will that you seek it.’ Hadn’t thought about that angle quite like that. When I repeatedly ask for a blessing, the Lord can consecrate my asking to my faith and growth. But if I don’t receive that confirmation…that it’s not his will that I seek it any longer…I can keep asking in faith that it’s the right thing to do. I don’t think that I’m wearying the Lord with the prayers or in a fruitless effort.
p.4-‘You know, Dad, I guess it doesn’t matter how deep the grass is, does it? The Lord knows where the wallet is.’ Then he added, ‘Actually, you could double or triple it, if you wanted. It really wouldn’t matter, because He knows, doesn’t He?’
p.10-we live far below our possibilities in working with the Lord. We’re too quick to turn to our own strength and not rely on him.
p.147-He did, but he wasn’t absolutely sure what the answer meant. Many times that’s the way answers to prayers come to us. Then, as I mentioned before, we have an opportunity to increase our faith even more than if the answer had come clearly. The key is to not harden your heart, to not be angry with the Lord, and to not, in disbelief, think that he did not answer your prayer. When we have a prayer that doesn’t seem to be answered, do we doubt the Lord?
p.148-When our prayers are not answered the way we’d hoped, how do we respond? I believe that no exercise of faith and prayer is wasted, even if the desired result is not obtained. Every such exercise helps us to grow and develop in most important spiritual ways, and we thereby become more prepared to seek and receive answers to prayers on future occasions. Because we had tried to ‘double our faith’ when we had ‘failed’ to avoid the inducing of labor, the Lord had truly increased our faith. This earlier, ‘easy’ experience had helped to prepare us to have sufficient faith to face the difficult challenge the mission was now facing. When you face ‘failure’ in prayer, if you will respond by praying more, love the Lord more, trusting more, asking again, and refusing to give up, your faith will be rewarded.
p.153-The Lord reveals his will many times in half steps. He does this so that we will be pressed into exercising faith in order to receive the next step. We might think of this principle as walking to the edge of the light.
p.154-Will you continue to press forward? Will you pay the price until you’ve received the blessing from the Lord (or until he tells you it’s no longer his will that you seek it)? Do these things and you will endure the trials well, and you’ll be that much closer to receiving the blessing you seek.
This last one hit home on the ‘until he tells you it’s no longer his will that you seek it.’ Hadn’t thought about that angle quite like that. When I repeatedly ask for a blessing, the Lord can consecrate my asking to my faith and growth. But if I don’t receive that confirmation…that it’s not his will that I seek it any longer…I can keep asking in faith that it’s the right thing to do. I don’t think that I’m wearying the Lord with the prayers or in a fruitless effort.
April 21, 2020
Good ole Elder Cook. He is such a great teacher and one of the most humble men I've read and listened to. I remember seeing him speak at the Provo MTC when I was a missionary in 1985. I remember thinking, "He's my kinda guy." This book is loaded with stories to illustrate the principles and concepts he teaches. He uses one major story to cover most of the 2-hour audio book (which is what I listened to). I took a lot of notes and have already started referring back to them as I seek to really step up my faith in asking for, receiving and acting on revelation. A couple of gems:
We live far below our possibilities when it comes to working with the Lord.
Not asking and persisting is the big problem, not worthiness or feelings of inadequacy.
The Lord is concerned about what we are concerned about. Don’t discount the little things. (2 Nephi 32:8-9)
Be aware that when you pray for something that really matters it usually gets worse. The devil will become involved. When this happens, just know that you are very close to victory.
He ends with some really good stuff on grace, calling it (according to the Bible dictionary) the enabling power of God. So uplifted and refilled after reading this.
We live far below our possibilities when it comes to working with the Lord.
Not asking and persisting is the big problem, not worthiness or feelings of inadequacy.
The Lord is concerned about what we are concerned about. Don’t discount the little things. (2 Nephi 32:8-9)
Be aware that when you pray for something that really matters it usually gets worse. The devil will become involved. When this happens, just know that you are very close to victory.
He ends with some really good stuff on grace, calling it (according to the Bible dictionary) the enabling power of God. So uplifted and refilled after reading this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2021
This book is a great read for people trying to understand prayer. You can expect to learn the power of prayer, how to pray for specific things, the obstacles related to prayer, as well as how to prepare for meaningful prayer.
I highly enjoyed this book and found it helpful in answering my own questions and addressing some of my concerns. At the end of each section are "Questions to Ponder." These questions help to solidify the information in the mind as well as create deep thought on the topic. The book is well organized with chapters separated into sections to break down the many topics that are related to prayer.
Overall, Receiving Answers to Our Prayers is a great book to read to inspire and reinvigorate our prayers.
I highly enjoyed this book and found it helpful in answering my own questions and addressing some of my concerns. At the end of each section are "Questions to Ponder." These questions help to solidify the information in the mind as well as create deep thought on the topic. The book is well organized with chapters separated into sections to break down the many topics that are related to prayer.
Overall, Receiving Answers to Our Prayers is a great book to read to inspire and reinvigorate our prayers.
May 15, 2017
This was a great book teaching ways to make our prayers more effective. It contains a lot of personal stories from Elder Cook's family, which is always fun since his family was in our ward when I was growing up. This book helped remind me of the importance of prayer and has helped me have more meaningful prayers and know how to exercise greater faith in Jesus Christ.
April 4, 2020
This is a very good little book of personal insights from a General Authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the process of prayer. He uses many personal stories drawn from his own life and the lives of his family to illustrate his point, and of course he sites many scriptures with commentary. It is an easy read and inspirational.
December 12, 2022
Fantastic book! So applicable. I loved it and then we listened to it as a family and they all loved it, too. Five of us took notes, while the younger kids listened to the stories and commented on them.
February 24, 2019
Re-read this book and loved the insights that Gene R. Cook shared on how to improve our prayers!
April 19, 2019
This is a a talk before an audience. Excellent. Elder Cook gave me a lot to think about.
May 30, 2019
This book gave me a lot to think about.
October 28, 2019
Quick read and definitely one to repeat.
March 7, 2020
Excellent insight to basic principles explained through every day experiences. This will definitely be something I will reference over and over again.
July 15, 2020
Great examples of faith and works.
August 28, 2020
I really appreciated the insight about personal prayers and how to receive answers. This is a book I will read again.
November 25, 2020
This has a lot of real life stories to share as examples and I really enjoyed this book. It answered some of my questions about prayer and helped to increase my faith.
April 28, 2023
Una fórmula práctica para hacercarse a Dios
January 18, 2024
Apply these words and your life will change for the better. I will read it again.
February 25, 2025
Reseña de Cómo Obtener Respuestas a Nuestras Oraciones de Gene R. Cook
Cómo Obtener Respuestas a Nuestras Oraciones de Gene R. Cook es un libro que transforma la forma en que entendemos y practicamos la oración. Sus enseñanzas, basadas en las Escrituras y en experiencias reales, nos invitan a acercarnos al Señor con fe, obediencia y propósito sincero.
Una cita que me marcó profundamente fue, “Yo les prometo en el nombre del Señor que si realmente desean lograr lo que hayan escrito, si sus deseos son justos y si están pidiendo de conformidad con la voluntad del Señor, Él les concederá lo que deseen—si aprenden y obedecen los principios y las leyes que gobiernan lo que procuran.” Este mensaje da esperanza y nos recuerda que Dios siempre escucha nuestras oraciones cuando actuamos conforme a Su voluntad.
El libro también resalta el poder de escuchar al Espíritu y cómo, al reconocer y obedecer Su guía, nuestras oraciones se vuelven más poderosas y significativas. Gene R. Cook no solo nos enseña a orar, sino a conectar con Dios de una manera más profunda.
Recomiendo este libro con todo mi corazón. Es una obra que cambia vidas y fortalece la fe. Le doy cinco estrellas y creo que todos deberían leerlo.
Cómo Obtener Respuestas a Nuestras Oraciones de Gene R. Cook es un libro que transforma la forma en que entendemos y practicamos la oración. Sus enseñanzas, basadas en las Escrituras y en experiencias reales, nos invitan a acercarnos al Señor con fe, obediencia y propósito sincero.
Una cita que me marcó profundamente fue, “Yo les prometo en el nombre del Señor que si realmente desean lograr lo que hayan escrito, si sus deseos son justos y si están pidiendo de conformidad con la voluntad del Señor, Él les concederá lo que deseen—si aprenden y obedecen los principios y las leyes que gobiernan lo que procuran.” Este mensaje da esperanza y nos recuerda que Dios siempre escucha nuestras oraciones cuando actuamos conforme a Su voluntad.
El libro también resalta el poder de escuchar al Espíritu y cómo, al reconocer y obedecer Su guía, nuestras oraciones se vuelven más poderosas y significativas. Gene R. Cook no solo nos enseña a orar, sino a conectar con Dios de una manera más profunda.
Recomiendo este libro con todo mi corazón. Es una obra que cambia vidas y fortalece la fe. Le doy cinco estrellas y creo que todos deberían leerlo.
June 30, 2010
My father gave this to me when it first came out (1996), for use during a time of surgery. (When he turned to me and asked whether I'd said a prayer, and I responded, "Yeah. Five of them.") My attention span was already highly developed, but I couldn't get through it then, and I barely did so now. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I will say he gives lots of standard, pat answers. Occasionally, when he waxes more original, he almost warrants the concern I heard one fellow voice, that he bought into a "vending machine" philosophy of faith (put it in, take out blessings). (He clearly doesn't really believe that, as one can see when he discusses grace. One also can't help verging on this at times, when it really is taught, as with President Benson, that man is to do his utmost before expecting God's aid...not that it never comes unbidden (see 24, 56, 126, 153).)
The book is doctrinally sound and flavored with helpful examples (and 87-90 is an inspirational story, indeed)--so I guess it's just lacking a tight thesis or something along those lines. He does understand something of the character of God and how to approach him. "I'm thankful that we can go to our Father in simplicity, as shown in these stories and in the Lord's Prayer. He's not there to hear flowery words; he wants to hear in simple words from your heart what you're feeling" (36). This agrees nicely with Elder James E. Talmage: "He is no tyrant to be propitiated and placated by honeyed words. He cannot be moved by wordy oratory. He is not a judge sitting to be influenced by the specious pleas of crafty advocates; and yet there is an eloquence that moves him; there is a plea that influences him. The eloquence of prayer from a broken heart and a contrite spirit prevails with him" (CR, Apr. 1930, 96).
As does President Packer, Elder Cook reminds us of the frequent urgency behind Heavenly's Father request that we ask in order to receive: "The Lord rarely gives us answers to questions we don't ask. He rarely grants requests we don't seek" (39). Elder Ballard has stated, "Revelations are generally answers to questions. The Lord did not come and tap Joseph on the shoulder and say, 'I have a revelation for you.' But instead Joseph went to the Lord and inquired to receive an answer." Among the many clarifications he rightfully gives about delayed or denied answers, he stresses Elder Groberg's similar point that sometimes it's like we are "asking him to intervene in life's events or circumstances like the weather, illness, the behavior of other individuals, and so forth" (42).
The book is doctrinally sound and flavored with helpful examples (and 87-90 is an inspirational story, indeed)--so I guess it's just lacking a tight thesis or something along those lines. He does understand something of the character of God and how to approach him. "I'm thankful that we can go to our Father in simplicity, as shown in these stories and in the Lord's Prayer. He's not there to hear flowery words; he wants to hear in simple words from your heart what you're feeling" (36). This agrees nicely with Elder James E. Talmage: "He is no tyrant to be propitiated and placated by honeyed words. He cannot be moved by wordy oratory. He is not a judge sitting to be influenced by the specious pleas of crafty advocates; and yet there is an eloquence that moves him; there is a plea that influences him. The eloquence of prayer from a broken heart and a contrite spirit prevails with him" (CR, Apr. 1930, 96).
As does President Packer, Elder Cook reminds us of the frequent urgency behind Heavenly's Father request that we ask in order to receive: "The Lord rarely gives us answers to questions we don't ask. He rarely grants requests we don't seek" (39). Elder Ballard has stated, "Revelations are generally answers to questions. The Lord did not come and tap Joseph on the shoulder and say, 'I have a revelation for you.' But instead Joseph went to the Lord and inquired to receive an answer." Among the many clarifications he rightfully gives about delayed or denied answers, he stresses Elder Groberg's similar point that sometimes it's like we are "asking him to intervene in life's events or circumstances like the weather, illness, the behavior of other individuals, and so forth" (42).
February 1, 2009
I read this book today in preparation for a lesson I was asked to give in church. It is a helpful book as it explains many of the weaknesses in our own prayers and identifies the key stumbling blocks to receiving personal revelation. It also gives specific guidelines to help us avoid those stumbling blocks and open the door to truth.
Elder Cook is a very gifted author and speaker - so it makes it easy to read and written in language we can all understand.
Elder Cook is a very gifted author and speaker - so it makes it easy to read and written in language we can all understand.
June 17, 2011
About 10 years ago my friend loaned me this talk on tape. It made a profound impact on my life and the way I pray and receive answers to those prayers. Over the years I have tried to quote the talk and have wished and wished I could listen to it again.
I finally found it and since it was available in book form I purchased that instead so I could really study it. Such a great book. A must have for every home!
I finally found it and since it was available in book form I purchased that instead so I could really study it. Such a great book. A must have for every home!
October 16, 2008
Reading this book made me realize that I am not coming close to receiving all the blessings that Heavenly Father has for me. It has really made me think about how many things I try to do myself without asking for help from a loving Father who is more than willing to pour out the blessings if I would just ask.
April 30, 2015
Although the book gave mostly only "It was a miracle and all worked out" type stories I still found it uplifting and helpful. It made me think that other things in my life could work out. I'm not sure that it made any great revelations about prayer, or things to pray better, but it was motivational.
September 24, 2008
Now that I'm getting my scripture reading down more, learning how to pray and understand answers I receive is the next step in a continual learning process. Inspirational and motivational stories and ideas.
April 13, 2009
I always read prayer books when I'm praying for something that I'm not getting. I usually come away with the same realization, "The answer is no. Live with it." This book helped me to find peace with my "no" - again.
September 18, 2009
This was one of the most inspiring LDS books that I have ever read. The author shares many wonderful, personal stories about how prayer has worked in his life, including a story about a son recently home from a mission and the prayers of a family to help him.
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May 17, 2010This was an inspiring book and I feel that my prayers have improved as well as my testimony of prayer has strengthened as I understand more about answers to our prayers. Great Book!; One I must read again.
August 15, 2010
One of the best books on faith, hope and finding answers to prayers (obviously) I've ever read. This book touched my heart and helped me through a lot of rough times. It inspires me to try harder and to stay closer to my Heavenly Father. I loved it.
January 14, 2011
I read this 13 years ago and loved this book! My friend had it on cd so I listened to it while waiting in the hospital and loved the discussion part and the story he shared that portrayed principals of prayer.
December 31, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of personal experiences and ways to be more in tune to answers that come. There were also ideas of and how to pray that was good to think about and try.
April 14, 2008
My favorite church book that I refer to frequently. It has changed the way I pray and has increased my ability to recognize answers to my prayers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews