I met with a friend recently who, with great tears, told me that she is having a crisis of faith. Mary wants to leave her church but fears condemnation.

"You’re not having a crisis of faith," I told her, "or you wouldn’t care so much. You may be in a crisis of faith toward men who want to tell you what to believe and do. But I think you would die for Heavenly Father."

"Yes," she confessed, "I would."

In that case, Mary, be at peace. You are better prepared than most of us to keep that first and greatest commandment to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:36-49). That's the first key to spiritual success and happiness. You believe in God and you love him. Now trust him – and commit yourself to do two more things:

The second key to spiritual success is to communicate with God each and every day. God is the source of all true religion. Your frustration with your church is good if it brings you to this realization. God is the ONLY source of all true religion. You must tap into that source.

Your early morning prayer each day should not be shallow, one-way communications. Take time to listen. This will need to be someplace where you can pour out your heart and listen for inspiration without interference. If the time and place is difficult to find, try 4 a.m. I've found the windows of heaven to be wonderfully open at that time of day before the world awakes.

Sometimes, like now, Mary, when you seek life-changing answers to your prayers, you may need to seek your own sacred mountain. Before nearly every major event in Jesus' life, he escaped to a mountain or into the wilderness at least overnight to communicate with our Heavenly Father.

Before he launched his three-year mission, Jesus fasted in the wilderness 40 days, and he "returned in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:1-2,13-15). Before he selected and ordained his 12 apostles, he spent the night on a mountain in prayer (Luke 6:12-13). Before he walked on water, Jesus sent his disciples ahead on the boat as he went into the mountain to pray (Matthew 14:22-25).

Jesus took Peter, James and John with him high onto another mountain, where he was transfigured before them as he met with Moses and Elias, and the disciples heard the voice of God (Matthew 17:1-7).

And on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus left the upper room "and went, as he was wont, to the Mount of Olives," to the garden called Gethsemane, where he took upon himself the sins of all mankind (Luke 22:39-44).

As you pray, Mary, be sure to include the following elements:

APPRECIATION: Thank God for all your blessings. Take time to appreciate the beauty of the heavens and earth, the prosperity and freedom of this nation, your family and loves ones, and all your other blessings. An appreciative heart is a happy one.

REQUESTS: Ask God for the things you need, but remember to look at your "needs" from God's eternal perspective. He doesn't care if you have a flashy new car, for example, but he does care that you have the means to travel to a place of worship and that you have whatever inspiration you need to serve him. Ask that the Holy Spirit be with you.

BLESSINGS UPON OTHERS: Be sure to ask for God's blessings for others -- including those spiritually immature and misguided children of God who have caused you pain in your life -- particularly for them. That does not mean you must continue to endure their abuse or to put yourself in spiritual or temporal danger at their hands, but pray for their souls, nonetheless. Evil men, such as Saul, have made miraculous changes in their lives. Pray that your tormentors may make their own Paul-like transformation -- even if you doubt they will, and even if they can never regain your trust.

CONFESSION: Confess your own sins to your Father. Pour them out. Pray for God's help to stop doing anything that you know is wrong. Ask him to help you learn to abhor sin, for sin, by its very nature, leads to unhappiness. Remember Christ's sacrifice for you. Offer up to him your own broken heart and contrite spirit. Consider what you can do to make up for anything you have done that has injured others. Now, accept God's forgiveness.

COMMITMENT: Promise Heavenly Father that you will be a disciple of Jesus Christ, that you will try to do what Jesus would do if he were here, and that you will do whatever God inspires you to do.

PERSONAL REVELATION: Ask for God's inspiration. Ponder whatever problems confront you, and offer up to him your best solutions for his approval. Ask what you should do on his behalf. Trust God to inspire you. Keep pen and paper at hand. And listen. Listen with your heart and with your mind. Await a flow of inspiration.

This presumes that you have already studied the options. If you don't know what church to attend, for example, examine them personally, then pray about them.

This prayer process will take at least 1/2 hour each day -- and many hours some days. But if you love God, you will want to communicate with him. Keep your appointment with him at least as faithfully as you would an appointment with a doctor, for God is the ultimate doctor of your soul. And this is the most important appointment you have scheduled each day.

The final key to spiritual success is simpler – but most difficult: Keep your promises to God.

The more he can trust you to follow his inspiration, the more he will inspire you. For him to give you personal revelation that you refuse to accept would lead to your condemnation. Far better that you not know his will than that you receive his light and then return to darkness.

These are the keys to spiritual success and happiness: Simply love God, listen to him, and do what he says.

Go find your Mount Sinai, Mary. God awaits you. I testify this is true -- that he will be as near to you as you will allow him to be, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.