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How to Pray
by Brad Jensen brad@elstore.com
Visitors since 11/13/96
(This is the response to an email message on prayer)
Richard Lubbock rcl@cycor.ca writes:
I do not believe Divinity has ever revealed itself
directly, and I do not
believe it ever can. God must forever shroud
himself in statistical
probabilities. The Cosmos can only express itself
in statistical language.
If true, that circumstance would guarantee our
free choices as co-creators
of reality.
Brad replies:
Divinity reveals itself directly all the time. Look in the mirror. Or look in your reality, which is the true mirror of your consciousness.
What people are looking for is the ability to prove God's divinity to someone else, and this would be an interference in God's relationship with that other person. It comes out of your own insecurity and doubt. What is false is never able to prove what is true.
I can only say for myself now, that prayer works directly and definitely and momentously and I have no doubt about it. If you create a picture where you are 'nudging' reality in a vague and indefinite way by repetitive pleading over long periods of time, this will work also but is like digging a ditch with an arsenal of A-bombs.
Prayer works any way you use it. There is no wrong way to pray. What is key to it is your intention and act of placing your attention on God as you know him, her, or it.
Things that I have found helpful in prayer:
1. I acknowledge the infinite presence, love, and power of God as my source in Spirit.
2. I know that nothing exists in my life except what God has created for my good.
3. I rise above all cirumstances and conditions and let go of all physical limitations and expectations, and share God's view of my life as a learning experience.
4. I recognize and respect the needs of my human selfhood, and connect these desires to my spiritual perception. I think specifically about those things I desire, and expect a corresponding answer from Spirit, in a present or future thought, word, or action in my life.
5. With God's help, I forgive the doubts and self-deceptions that result in my resentments and guilts. Each of these is a sign of where I am living in the shadow, not the light, so I review them carefully and let them go.
6. I express my gratitude for the divine presence which animates my life, the divine purpose which gives it meaning, and the divine love that gives me value to share with others.
7. I reaffirm that I know God and accept his active presence in my life.
Of course I have just descibed the Lord's Prayer...
And the seven days of creation...
And the seven churches in Asia...
And the Kaballah (there is no significance in the way I spell this, other than I find this spelling mentally easier to pronounce)...
I recognize that prayer is a quality of thought that is always present, in every thought. Each of us prays without ceasing. Choosing to consciously emphasize the process of prayer by setting aside a time to reduce my distractions and concentrate on God enhances my understanding of prayer, my confidence in its effectiveness, and my instant access to this aspect of my being at any time and in any situation.
Now all this discussion about the quality of isness of God sounds like a guy standing on shore trying to describe what it is like to be sailing.
If you want to find physical proof of the action of prayer, then pray.Asking for experts to confirm your faith is like asking your earlobe whether it likes the music you are hearing.
As long as you place your greatest value on "I don't want to be wrong, because I would then condemn myself based on what I think others would be thinking of me" then you are still confused. As long as you doubt, and as much as you doubt, you will deny your power.
God is infinite joy expressing as love. Plug into the joy by expressing the love. Quit denying your real self, and God will appear instantly and in this moment now. You don't earn it, you learn it. Once you learn it, the results are instantaneous.
Don't make God jump thru hoops. It is not necessary and it delays your good, although nothing can prevent it.
brad@elstore.com
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