UNDERSTANDING PRAYER NO MATTER YOUR BELIEFS
When horrible things happen to people, many of us will say "our prayers are with you." Is this powerful enough? Is this sincere in a way that comforts those who have been through the terrible experience? Well, no matter if you are Christian, Muslim, Jew, Atheist, or anything in between ... you will get something from reading this article. I promise you. And it may just change the way you look at the offering of prayer in the future.
First, let's start with a couple of ancient scriptures that we can use as a foundation for metaphysical transformation and self identity purposes. The first one is here:
“By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because AS JESUS IS, SO ALSO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.”
-1 John 4:17
Chances are good that you will not hear this verse coming from the church pulpits. Simply because if “as Jesus is, so are we in this world” ... then as Christianity believes Jesus to be God, then WE, are also God. There is no way to dispute the validity of this verse, and the message contained within it.
So, now let's have a peek at Matthew 6 for a moment. Jesus is quoted as instructing the following:
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
What powerful and clear cut instructions. No confusion here. But, as with all scripture, there are deeper meanings hidden beneath the surface stories that are being presented. The design of a myth always contains a Truth, and a lesson to be had. We must look beyond the ink and paper. Beyond the stories, fables, and allegories. We must go within the layers to find the true message. So lets break it down.
First of all, don't show off. No need to make a big deal of your prayers for an audience to witness. And to “go into your room/closet” is a reference to you inner chamber ... your personal “Holy of Holies” WITHIN YOU ... where God/Source dwells, and the Kingdom exists.
We are told to shut the door. This means quiet, isolated contact with the Divine. No distractions. Empty phrases are repetitive appeals, as if you're reading them from a script. Meditation and contemplative prayer should come from your heart, your emotions, not your left brain logic and analytics. It should be fresh, and it should be heartfelt.
Next ... and very important ... he says “for your Father ALREADY knows what you need BEFORE you ask him.” This is because the Father, God/Absolute/Source is WITHIN you and already knows what is needed and taking place inside of you ... in your heart and Soul. This is how the God/Source WITHIN already knows before you even ask.
“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
~Luke 17:20
Among the ancients, prayer was not only different, but was intended as a direct inner connection to the Divine spark of Source/God, and the universal superconsciousness that weaves throughout all of creation, forming the Matrix that binds ALL things together as One ... NOT separate things ... but One thing. Everything that exists, had its origin from the same starting point. Therefore, everything that exists is related and relative within, and without. We are all One. There is no “other.” The Universe, is ONE living organism.
A smile is just a frown turned upside down ... and a prayer is a desire that comes from the inside out. You are a co-creator in this Universe (YOUniverse). When you pray, or meditate, or enter contemplation, you are going WITHIN ... direct to the Source of the Creator. The power within your thoughts that MUST manifest into form. This is Universal Immutable Law. But it is YOU who has to make it happen.
Just as you cast your cares to the wind, cast your dreams and desires to the Universe. Release your prayer and simply know that it IS, as it should be. No need to keep hammering it or pounding your fists to the ground. Everything is cause and effect. If you pray for someone to be cured of a disease and they are not, it is not because your prayers failed, or that God/Source doesn't answer your prayers. It is because that person you are praying for incarnated here with a mission to fulfill. And that mission may have involved a need to know the effects of sickness or disease. We are all Spirit, having a physical experience. And we signed up for the experiences that we are to create long before we got here.
We can alter our paths with free-will, but there are certain lessons we came here to Earth School to learn, and to re-member. Prayer is cause and effect. It is a knowingness (gnosis) that you have the power to manifest your own reality. To bring thoughts, into form. Use only positive expressions in your prayers. No negative statements. For example, rather than praying for pain to subside, pray for health to return.
Rather that praying to not have a bad day, pray to have a good day. Your Mind, and Universal consciousness (the Field) knows NOT negativity. If you request to NOT to smoke today ... subconsciousness, our Divine magic Genie, only hears “smoke today.” And so you will. Forget the “don't won't can't and shouldn't” and go straight for the “do, will, can, and should.” You will notice an immediate change. The creative right-brain AND our subconscious Mind works in images, not words. You can't present an image/picture of something that ISN'T. You cannot draw an image of someone NOT swimming. If they're NOT swimming, they're doing something else. Now, stay with me on this.
In the ancient world, God/Source was understood to be the Energy of creation, or Love. If God/Source is thought of as Energy, then it makes sense for us to tune” into the proper frequencies to be able to receive and express that Source Energy. In this way, we can think of ourselves as having the ability to tune to certain thoughts and energies, much like a radio can be tuned to different frequencies of radio waves - which are always there and available for reception. In our mind/body energy system, we can think of our spiritual faculty of Choice, as the tuning mechanism. We can make conscious choices to “tune” our thoughts to Love, and the thoughts, prayers, and behaviors which are compatible with that energy of Love. When we choose to do this, we set ourselves up to receive and send the energy of Love, or God/Source Energy, much the same way that we would tune a radio to receive the broadcast signal of a radio station.
Prayer is a plea to the matrix of universal consciousness that connects all of us. It isn’t hocus-pocus magic. It is “honest to God” quantum physics and oneness of consciousness. The more you fine-tune the frequencies, the more form will manifest. Thoughts are things. They generate measurable energy … and they can’t simply dissolve or go away. They will manifest, even in the realms that remain unseen by the human eye in a physical world of matter. Faith, is knowing the Law of Cause and Effect. Once you understand this Universal Law, your faith becomes knowingness. You just KNOW it will happen. This is the end result of your prayers.
When we see God only as some supernatural being “out-there” somewhere, we fail to connect with the closeness that is the Divine power WITHIN us. Omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Seek and you shall find. Ask and it shall be given. This Law of Cause and Effect, involves your participation and involvement. The Universe is interactive and constantly changing according to the universal desires of all people of consciousness. Raise yours. Connect with your inner Higher-Self. End the suffering of all creatures. Collectively, WE HAVE THE POWER.
Just a thought ...
Justin Taylor, ORDM.
