King Benjamin makes the case that God is intimately involved in our lives, even lending us breath, and supporting us from one moment to another.
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21 I say unto you that if ye should aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another— I say, if ye should serve him with all your ewhole souls yet ye would be funprofitable servants.
In a previous post, I stated that I don’t think God is involved in every detail of our lives. God wants us to grow up, and doesn’t get involved in every single aspect of our lives. He didn’t help Austin Collie make a catch on 4th and 18 to win the game. Hence we seem to have some sort of conundrum.
I made the point on another blog a while back that sometimes God’s answers to prayers are “no”. I received the following response.
MH,
I don’t buy the “God answers prayers but sometimes the answer is no” doctrine.
When little children are kidnapped and being tortured and the only thing they have left is a prayer to God to be saved, and they are found dead weeks later. I guess God’s answer was no.
God whispers into the ears (thru the HG) of those that have the gift and tells them to buckle their seatbelt preceding a crash, but ignores all the starving children in Africa.
God cures cancer and all manner of sicknesses, but has NEVER healed an amputee. I guess amputees are not worthy…none of them.
If there is a God, he/she certainly doesn’t meddle with the affairs of this earth. If he/she actually does exist, and does meddle, then to hell with em. Their discrimination makes me sick to my stomach.
Mormon Heretic 
Well, Heretic, this is really a question for the ages. I do not have the answer, but I think there is a phrase in King Benjamin’s speech that is highly relevant: “[T]hat ye may live and move and do according to your own will . . . ” King Benjamin talks about God constantly giving us breath and preserving us SO THAT we can exercise our will. Ideally we will be grateful for that and try to align our will with his. Obviously, no one does that all the time. And some veer far off track.
I have had enough experiences in my life to know that God does not always “answer” my prayers in the sense of giving me what I want. Maybe because of that I now ask for different things. For me, this does not mean that God is not involved in my daily life. He is just involved in different way. Is this approach me coming to God, or is it just lowering my expectations? Or might those be the same thing?
Yes, Teacher, I don’t really have any answers either. This life is quite a complex test. God allows unthinkable wickedness to happen, as well as good. Sometimes he seems quite selective in choosing where he wants to get involved.
I believe He gets involved when He wants to do so and not when He doesn’t. I don’t pretend to understand that answer; I don’t understand that answer. However, it’s the only answer that makes sense given my experiences – even as it still doesn’t make total sense.
Oh, and I believe sometimes (quite often, actually) God says, “You’re an idiot.”
The problem is we generally don’t hear those answers.
Ray, that is a great line.
Part of the problem people have is that they believe that staying in this life is better than moving on to the next in every circumstance.