THE SECRET OF PRAYER
Do you think of prayer as wishful thinking or a
way of soliciting God’s help? Either way, you may be misunderstanding what lies
at the root of prayer.
While there’s scientific evidence that praying
can have true worldly effects -- prayed-for people and plants grow healthier;
people who pray live longer; bacteria can be influenced by prayer; etc., --
it’s not clear exactly what causes these effects. When praying brings results,
is the cause praying, or is it something else?
If we think of prayer merely as speaking words to
God and asking for help, we may have reason for skepticism and doubt. However,
if we think of prayer as a way of generating and focusing creative energy
-- the essence of all being and from which all existence arises -- then there’s
a way of conceiving a rational explanation for the workings of prayer.
In other words, if we recognize that prayer is a
way of focusing the creative power of consciousness, then its results are no
greater a miracle than any other creative act; no different than eliciting a
new insight, idea, inspiration, or creative vision -- all of which suddenly
emerge from nonexistence and cause new life possibilities to form. Prayer may
actually be a way of mobilizing the creative power that secretly resides at our
depths.
In this light the main difference between prayers
getting answered or not has not to do with our prayerful words, but rather the quality
of consciousness that underlies those words. When praying in desperation
and fear, we may be unwittingly working against what we want, failing
ourselves. Successful prayer may have everything to do with how well we focus
the creative power of consciousness and the level of positive energy we generate.
Here may lie the true secret of prayer.
Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.
SPREAD AWARENESS ... FORWARD THESE THOUGHTS TO A FRIEND.
