President Russell M. Nelson said that "Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work."  (Ensign, May 2018, 95).

I like that.  I like that a lot.  I like the adjectives that he so carefully chose to create this formula for receiving revelation and direction for our lives:  "increased," "exact," "earnest," "daily," and "regular."

There is one thing more that I would add as a necessary ingredient for opening the heavens, and that is "a quiet place."  The Lord said,  "Be still, and know that I am God."  (Psalms 46:10).  It is when we are quiet and unhurried that the Spirit can speak to us.  It is difficult for the Spirit to break through frenetic activity, worries, loud noises, blaring music, and the clamor that usually surrounds us.

If we want to feel the Spirit and to have the Holy Ghost speak to our spirits, we have to purposely create a quiet place for that to happen.

We may want to get up earlier while the rest of the household is still asleep.  We may want to take a walk without earphones.  We may choose to make our commute to work with the radio off.  We can purposely make a regular, unhurried appointment to be in the temple with the Spirit.

As a young man and new convert to the Church, Lorenzo Snow had a daily habit of going to a quiet place in a grove of trees each evening to pray.  Two or three weeks after his confirmation he became uneasy because he had not yet received an assurance that he had received the Holy Ghost.  "A gloomy spirit and indescribable cloud of darkness seemed to envelop him."  Not feeling like praying, but because of his habit, he went to his quiet place and knelt.  He reported:

"I had no sooner opened my lips in an effort to pray, than I heard a sound, just above my head, like the rustling of silken robes, and immediately the Spirit of God descended upon me, completely enveloping my whole person, filling me, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and O, the joy and happiness I felt!  No language can describe the almost instantaneous transition from a dense cloud of mental and spiritual darkness into a refulgence of light and knowledge ... I then received a perfect knowledge that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and of the restoration of the holy Priesthood, and the fulness of the Gospel."  (As quoted by Henry D. Taylor in general conference, Ensign, June 1971, 108-9).

Joseph Smith's most important revelations came while he was in quiet places:  the Sacred Grove, while reading the book of James in the Bible, while translating the scriptures, and while praying in the temple behind veils which had been dropped.

President Joseph F. Smith experienced the marvelous Vision of the Dead, which is section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants, while he sat alone in his room pondering over the scriptures.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

If we want to know Him, and to receive direction from Him, we have to be quiet and purposefully seek Him.  We need to be exact, earnest, regular, and to increase our purity.  He will always answer.

(Addendum, 14 August 2020):  A quiet place to pray has been the secret to a fairly recent (as in the last few years) spiritual transformation I have felt in myself. For most of my life I have offered mostly silent prayers because I was worried about being overheard. I've always been blessed to live in a crowded home! I started praying out loud while I was out alone exercising. I look forward to my exercise as much for my spirit as for any physical benefit. My soul needs it! I love that time of solitude to ponder and offer long vocal prayers. Sometimes I've had kids who want to go along with me, but I have to tell them I'll go again with them when I return. I feel like I have come closer to Heavenly Father and the Savior and that I have increased in love, patience, faith, understanding and testimony. My mornings out alone are a glorious time of my day. In the evening I have also been going on a little walk to have the space and time to pray again aloud. I have a testimony of what you say! Quiet places are a spiritual necessity.  I am always grateful that I live here where I can find such beautiful, inspiring quiet places to feel God's love and Spirit while surrounded by His breathtaking creations.                                  --Heidi Bradford