Mosiah Chapter 11

11:25 - "...except they repent...and cry mightily to the Lord their God, he will be slow to hear their cries..."
If I want the Lord to hear my cries, I need to repent and cry mightily to the Lord.
He will answer our prayers.

11:25 - "...except they repent in sackcloth and ashes, and cry mightily to the Lord their God, I will not hear their prayers, neither will I deliver them out of their afflictions..."
Why would he deliver us from afflictions, when these afflictions are there to help us learn what we should be doing?  There are times that we may need to be delivered, but very often, we just need to be strengthened in our afflictions to learn and grow.

Just because we pray to the Lord, we're not guaranteed to have no afflictions.  However, if we repent and cry unto the Lord, we may still have the afflictions, but we will have a clear conscience, which opens us up to the Spirit...which will teach us and we will learn from our experiences.
11:29 - "...the eyes of the people were blinded; therefore they hardened their hearts against the words of Abinadi..."
If I'm taking the truth to be hard, or if I harden my heart against the words of the prophets, then I know I'm becoming spiritually blind.
It's a good gauge to use to assess our current situation and see where changes are needed, especially in coming unto Christ.