Recently, a good friend of mine asked me to sit in the ICU waiting room with her while she awaited the outcome of her loved one’s surgery. She told me, “I wanted you here because God listens to you and he doesn’t listen to me.”

This is so sad. And so wrong.

I don’t have any red phone access to the divine that anyone else doesn’t have.

My friend has had a tragic life. She has overcome trials that would’ve destroyed most people. I can understand why she thinks God doesn’t care about her. And, while I can’t justify the horror that was inflicted on her, I know that God loves her profoundly.

I’ve found through my own trials and experiences that the Great I Am gets involved in our lives—but doesn’t control them. We are born to grow, love more deeply and refine our souls. Some say we pick our challenges before we are born. Regardless, few, if any, people go through life ambling down Easy Street.

We can communicate with the Almighty through prayer, meditation and accessing the Holy Spirit, or universal life force energy (as others call it). This energy connects us to the divine and makes it easier for us to experience a real spiritual relationship.

We all have direct-line access to the Most Divine. Despite your beliefs or the life you’ve lived, God will hear you. And God will find ways to communicate with you. You need only be open to receiving those heavenly efforts.