“The true gift of prayer is knowing we are not alone when the world literally brings us to our knees,” said Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sister Cordon spoke during a devotional at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, Tuesday morning, February 4, 2020.

“As part of this mortal experience, we each long to feel loved,” explained the general officer of the Church to thousands of students and faculty gathered in the Marriott Center.

Sister Cordon continued, “We yearn for connection — both to Heavenly Father and to each other. We have gone to great lengths over centuries and decades to connect; countless tools have been invented, all with the hope of easing our loneliness and feeling support and love from one another.”

“Who is our steadfast guide and stay as we face the challenges of life?” she asked. “Like the Prophet Joseph Smith, our answer is to ‘Ask of God.’ … He will be our guide, our solace and our stay if we will go to Him in prayer” (see James 1:5).

37 I invite you to take your questions to the divine source that starts with a capital ‘G.’ —Sister Cordon 

Sister Cordon said inspiration can be better found through prayer than by searching the internet. “The word ‘google’ is now in the dictionary as a noun, verb and even an adjective, but I invite you to take your questions to the divine source that starts with a capital ‘G.’ Prayer may not offer you over 34 million results on a single topic, but through prayer you may be blessed with a clear mind and quickened understanding.”

But she cautioned that receiving an answer to prayer may require patience. “At some point, we all wait upon the Lord. The answer may be there, but not as we expected. It may be a matter of timing and we just need to continue to ponder and wrestle.”

The Young Women leader said continual prayer and expressing gratitude to God for our trials give us the privilege to ask for blessings.

Sister Cordon shared a story of her young grandson dying while on a family vacation in December 2016. He was in a children’s hospital for several days on life support. “I longed for my little Derek. But as I prayed, I continued to feel comfort and consolation from a loving Heavenly Father,” she said.

“Prayer is evidence that the Lord understands the storms of life and the need for His children to have a safe place to retreat,” added Sister Cordon.

“There is no need to muddle through life alone; we can have Heaven’s help,” she concluded. “Through prayer we will come to understand who we are and how much we are loved. We will know what steps to take to move forward in our own life and how to bless those around us.”

To watch or listen to the entire talk, visit speeches.byu.edu.