To Struggle Through Prayer

Prayer is one of the fundamental parts of the gospel; it is a primary answer to all of our problems and is one of the few things that can ensure we are blessed by asking our Father for those blessings. Over the last couple of months however, my faith in prayer has been tried, as they were for the Nephites in Alma 58:7 and 10: “And it came to pass that we did wait in these difficult circumstances for the space of many months, even until we were about to perish… Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies."
My enemies aren't physical as the Lamanites were for the Nephites, but my enemies are very strong. Mentally, I have a tendency to beat myself up. I don't think I'm good at anything, that I am at all attractive, that I really have much to give the world, although I try as best I can. And as such, I have little confidence in not only myself, but God as well sometimes. I'm not perfect, and I'm not going to act as though I have a perfect faith in my Father, because I don't. I've always struggled with that. And because of this lack of self confidence, I never know when or even if my prayers are being answered. Which brings me to my problem.
I've been prayer for months about what I should major in. Once upon a time I thought that Psychology was for me, and I pursued it. I've done well, my best classes this semester, but I still felt like something was missing. And that's when I felt like majoring in Photography would be really good for me. The problem, though, was whether or not I would even get in. The acceptance rate for the application and portfolio into the Photography major is 25-30%. In case you didn't know, that's really,really small. But praying hasn't really seemed to help me at all. Honestly, I feel... ignored.
I know, that's horrible. But I just can't help it. Or couldn't anyway. That was until I read a talk by Elder Scott from May 2007 that my missionary suggested to me. "He [the Lord] will always hear your prayers and will invariably answer them. However, His answers will seldom come while you are on your knees praying, even when you may plead for an immediate response. Rather, He will prompt you in quiet moments when the Spirit can most effectively touch your mind and heart. Hence, you should find periods of quiet time to recognize when you are being instructed and strengthened." I'm not being ignored. In a lot of ways, I'm shocked I ever let that thought even toy around in my mind. But even so, I was very annoyed that I was still struggling with receiving an answer from God. And that's when I read the next part of the talk that made everything make sense. "Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. Your character will grow; your faith will increase."
So really, it's all about my faith being increased. I'm not being ignored by God. He's not doing it to frustrate me or tick me off. He's trusting me, even if I don't trust myself entirely. "When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision."
I have never been more grateful for God and His constantly being there for me, listening to me and helping me.