But other times, God gives us the answer right away! ⁣

Joshua, the new leader of the Israelites, approached the city of Jericho. ⁣

This was the climax of 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, and now what?! ⁣

Well, the Lord tells Joshua: ⁣

“See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.” (Joshua 6:2) ⁣

The Lord then proceeded to tell Joshua exactly what to do– march around the city once a day for six days, and on the seventh day, march seven times more. The priests will then blow ram’s horns, the people will shout, and the walls of Jericho will come tumbling down. ⁣

The prophet Joshua told his people the plan, they followed the directions, and the city was theirs. ⁣

Easy peasy, right? ⁣

Asked and answered. ⁣

Sometimes, the Lord is ready to give us the exact answer that we need.⁣

But the tricky part then becomes having enough faith to actually follow through on the plans. ⁣

Have you had an experience like this before? ⁣

Receiving direct answers to prayers is the best. ⁣

But then we have to trust and act. ⁣

Because receiving the answer is only the first half of the equation. ⁣

Whether that means to quit the job, have that conversation, or march around a city blowing horns and shouting, it takes a lot of faith to follow through on our answered prayers.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The faith to march around Jericho  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was recently thinking about a time when I was NOT looking for a new job.

But I WAS looking for some more fulfillment in my life. ⁣

A random job opportunity popped up.

I browsed through the application information out of curiosity. ⁣

And suddenly, I knew that I needed to fill out that application.

I got the job.

And that job completely changed the trajectory of my life in the best way possible.

I had been praying for more fulfillment in my life…

And God knew exactly how I needed to get there.

No matter how random it may have seemed.

But it took faith to follow those out-of-left-field promptings!

The brother of Jared had been praying for his family and friends to be spared from having their languages confounded.

And pretty shortly after, the Lord told him:

“Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built.” (Ether 2:16)

How do sincere prayers for protection and freedom turn into commandments to build barges?

God knows.

Only He knows.

And the brother of Jared had the faith to follow the direction!

Do we have the faith in Jesus Christ to follow the promptings we receive, even when they don’t seem to match with the questions we had in the first place?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post  The random prompting first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There were two different groups of people.

Both oppressed by the Lamanites.

Both wanting to escape to Zarahemla.

The first group, led by Limhi, thought about how they were going to escape.

They brainstormed ideas, listened to Gideon, and came up with a plan.

Their result?

Limhi’s men gave strong wine to the Lamanite guards and escaped while they were in a drunken sleep.

It worked!

The second group was led by Alma.

They prayed for a long time for relief, and finally got an answer:

“Thou shalt go before this people, and I will go with thee and deliver this people out of bondage.” (Mosiah 24:17)

Not knowing exactly what was going to happen, the people packed their belongings and waited with faith.

Miraculously, the Lamanite guards were in a deep sleep, and everyone escaped!

The Lord answers the prayers of His people.

But He answers them in different ways, in different situations, and in different times.

While Limhi had to come up with ideas, talk with others, and execute the plan…

Alma and his people were just waiting in faith, acting on directions they didn’t quite understand yet.

But guess what was the same with both groups?

The result!

They both were freed from bondage because they relied on the Lord.

“Every one of our paths is different.” – Reyna Aburto

No matter the path the Lord takes, He will provide a way to make miracles happen.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Two groups, two paths first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Or prayed that you could sleep well, and then you do?⁣

Or prayed that you’d be able to get everything done before your deadline, and then you do?⁣

There are a lot of prayers that God answers without fanfare or drama. ⁣

These answers are difficult to recognize because they look like natural things happening.

They make us think, “Eh, that would have happened whether or not I prayed about it.”

When… maybe it wouldn’t have.

After years of praying and pleading for help from the people in Zarahemla, King Limhi and his people had a group of strangers arrive in their land.

A case of mistaken identity led to King Limhi preparing to put this group of strangers to death.

Right before putting them to death, though, King Limhi makes the shocking discovery that these strange wanderers were the answer to their prayers!

“Now, I know of a surety that my brethren who were in the land of Zarahemla are yet alive. And now, I will rejoice.” (Mosiah 7:14)

He almost missed the answer to their prayers.

But he caught it just in time, and the reunion was joyful.

Are we missing any answered prayers in our lives?

Are we looking for dramatic fanfare?

For things that seem impossible?

Ordinary but still miraculous answers are all around us.

We have strength to get through the day. We drive safely. Our kid is comforted. We find an answer to a question. Our kids are kind to each other.

It’s so easy to miss them.

But so often, it’s how God answers prayers.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Ordinary answers  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I learned that last week as I attempted to assemble 100 invitations.

I had all the supplies ready and the deadline was looming—

The invites were printed, I had cut up the bubble wrap into the correct shapes, and my stapler was totally loaded with new staples.

And then I tried the first one.

And my stapler jammed.

As a former teacher, I unjammed that stapler like it was nothing, and tried again.

Jammed.

I didn’t believe it, and tried an embarrassingly large amount of times before I realized the stapler wasn’t going work.

How I was going to attach the bubble wrap to the invites?!

That was probably one of the silliest prayers I’ve ever offered as I sent my plea heavenward.

But it also really mattered to me.

I needed to solve the problem quickly.

What about rolled up scotch tape?

I found a roll that was almost out in the bottom of a drawer and tried it out.

It worked great, it held the bubble wrap, and you could hardly notice it. Score!

I got to work rolling and taping and sticking, sure that this roll of tape was going to run out at some point during the 100 invites.

But it never ran out.

I completed everything on time.

One of the most freeing things I’ve learned is that my Heavenly Father cares about all the little details of my life. ⁣

I don’t ONLY need to talk to my Father in prayer about “spiritual” matters or deep life questions.

⁣”If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5)

I love the empowerment that comes from knowing that I can ask for help any time I lack wisdom in any aspect of my life. ⁣

And I love those little moments where I know God is looking out for me in something that might seem so silly, but that really matters to me.

It’s about asking.

Joseph Smith asked a question and it changed the world.

I asked a question and I was able to attach bubble wrap to a piece of paper for an important invite.

And God cares about it all.

All we need to do is ask.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post God answers all prayers first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When faced with a tragedy, most people say that the traditional offering of “thoughts and prayers” doesn’t do anything.

People say that only actions will change things or offer any real help.

I always think:

Why not both?

Thoughts and prayers AND action!

We should always accompany our prayers with sincere effort.

Effort matters!

Whether that’s taking steps to support family members who need help.

Or actually reaching out to the ward members who aren’t at church.

Or becoming involved in advocacy for national or international causes that you care about.

But what do we do when “action” isn’t an option?

What do we do in those impossibly difficult moments when someone is enduring a trial that we wish we could take away but can’t?

What do we do when someone’s heart is too hardened to notice our efforts?

What do we do when we can’t control the outcome?

I have learned that prayer works.

Prayer really works.

God is powerful.

There are some blessings that God wants to give to us, but He needs us to ask Him in prayer.

The Bible Dictionary entry for “Prayer” says:

“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.

“Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them.

“Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.”

That’s the only condition for many blessings!

We have to ask.

We have to intentionally ask.

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2)

We can plead for those around us in our prayers.

We should absolutely accompany our sincere prayers with actions and service if possible. ⁣

But our Heavenly Father recognizes the form of “work” that offering a prayer is and is willing to give us and others blessings from that action.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Thoughts and prayers! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I love coming up with really good plans.

Whether it’s been for callings at church, my next career move, or ideas for how to help my child, I think of a lot of stuff.

And sometimes, God says, “no” to my carefully crafted plans.

Paul experienced this, too.

Paul really wanted to travel to certain areas to share the gospel. ⁣

“After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.” (Acts 16:7)

His desire was perfectly righteous!

And it made logical sense for them to preach to the people in Bithynia as they travelled, too.

Maybe Paul had travel arrangements or contacts there to make it super convenient.

But he prayed, and the Spirit told him, “no.” ⁣

For me, “no” answers usually come with stupors of thought.

I feel like the next step is not available to me.

Or I feel “off” as I pray about it. ⁣

It takes a lot of faith to NOT go through with something we want to do.

And then the trickiest part of all?

Usually the promptings for what we should do instead do not come until we have shown the faith not to go down the first path. ⁣

I’ve known that an idea I was really excited about was no longer right.

But it wasn’t until I took actual steps away from that first idea that the much better, much more powerful second idea came into focus.

It took a LOT of humility.

But I think that’s the point.

Slowly removing that pride, layer by layer.

It takes faith to align our will with God and accept that His “no” will bring the greatest future imaginable.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Accepting a “no” from God  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As we worked through “what came next” on a series of different patterns, I noticed how many of the kids worked very differently.

Some of the kids would try and figure out the color patterns on their own.

(Sometimes they were right; other times they were very wrong.)

And other kids wanted to wait and see what the answer was before they colored in their pattern.

(“Wait, what’s the answer? What color should I use?”)

These two approaches are pretty universal, right?

Sometimes we have questions and problems, and we do our best to find a solution.

Other times, we have questions and problems, and we wait for the answer to come to us before we move forward.

As an educator, I’m very familiar with where the most learning happens:

When we do our best to do the work and find an answer, whether it is right or wrong, we learn infinitely more than when we just wait to be told the right answer.

Abraham’s servant is such a perfect and sweet example of this.

Tasked with finding a wife for Isaac, the servant came up with a plan and presented it to the Lord.

“And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.” (Genesis 24:14)

The servant came up with a possible solution!

And the Lord agreed with the plan!

Now, he could have been totally “wrong”, which would have then made it pretty easy for the Lord to tell him how he would actually give the sign of the right wife.

But either way, this servant chose to at least come up with the plan, which is where the most learning and growth happens.

It’s so tempting to want to sit around, waiting to be inspired or told to do the right things.

Who should I serve? How should I simplify my life? What can I do to teach my family the gospel?

It takes a lot of faith, and setting aside “perfectionism”, to take fully formed ideas to the Lord and see what you’ll be taught.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Patterns and preschool first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

How does this connection work?!

Most people hear “be humble” and think about someone who is too proud to pray.

Someone who thinks they can do it all on their own, or that they need to do it all on their own.

But the opposite is true, too, right?

Someone who thinks they don’t deserve to ask for God’s help.

Someone who is afraid of what God thinks of them. Someone who thinks they need to repent or change before they start communicating with God.

As with most things in life, the answer lies perfectly in the Bible Dictionary definition for “Prayer”.

Even if you’ve read and loved this definition before, look at this portion through the lens of one of the most popular scriptures, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” D&C 112:10

Here we go:

“As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part.

“Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship.”

Prayer becomes difficult, unnatural, and ineffective when we forget who we are.

When we think we are too much for God, or when we think we are too little.

But when we remember exactly the relationship that we have with God, when we remember that He is our Father and that we are His children.

When we remember that we are loved eternally and authentically by Him.

When we remember that He is eager to forgive and full of mercy.

Then prayer becomes NATURAL and INSTINCTIVE.

And when prayer becomes a natural instinct to us, God is able to take us by the hand, to lead us, and to answer every prayer.

Not that He grants us every wish and whim, but He communicates because we are ready to hear Him.

So the key to receiving constant guidance and answers to prayers?

Be thou humble, and know exactly what your relationship is like with God.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Humility and answered prayers first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

To me, it’s the answer to these two questions:

Why are we told to ask and knock, and we will receive, when not all of my questions or requests are actually answered?

And…

How am I supposed to make my prayers more about aligning with God’s will instead of just listing off my thanks and requests?

The Lord teaches pretty succinctly in D&C 46:30:

“He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh.”

The Lord is teaching specifically about requesting more spiritual gifts, but I think this applies perfectly to any request we have of Him.

The answer is the presence of the Spirit.

When I have the Spirit with me as I pray, I know what to pray for.

I had a very powerful moment in my life where I went to pray for someone’s healing, but I suddenly knew NOT to pray for healing, and to pray for comfort of loved ones instead.

And I had a very powerful moment in my life where I went to pray to accept the outcome, no matter what it was, but I suddenly knew that I SHOULD pray and request healing.

It’s hard to explain.

It’s those quiet whisperings of the Spirit that lead me toward asking the right question, and confirming in my heart that I am knocking on the right door.

But when I’m saying prayers without requesting the presence of the Spirit, or not living worthily to invite His presence, then I end up asking questions that aren’t ready to be answered yet.

It all comes back to the Sacrament for me.

That is such a serious covenant that I renew each week.

I always want His Spirit to be with me.

And so I try to always remember Him and keep His commandments.

My prayers have night-and-day differences when I have the Spirit with me.

And one of the biggest blessings is that I know what to pray for.

My will starts to be swallowed up in the Father’s will.

And the spiritual gifts that I request and seek after are given to me as I work hard to obtain them.

I knock, and it’s opened. Because I have the Spirit with me to let me know I’m at the right door.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Asking in the Spirit first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.