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"If God-Infinite
Spirit ever answered prayer, It always answers prayer."
"…since
God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. If there seems
to be any failure it is in man's ignorance or misunderstanding
of the Will and Nature of God.
There
is a place in us which lies open to the Infinite; but when
the Spirit brings Its gift, by pouring Itself through us,
It can give to us only what we can take.
Every
day and every hour we are meeting the eternal realities of
life, and in such a degree as we co-operate with these eternal
realities in love, in peace, in wisdom, and in joy-believing
and receiving-we are automatically blessed. Our prayer is
answered before it is uttered.
We can
be certain that there is an Intelligence in the Universe to
which we may come, that will guide and inspire us, a love
which overshadows. God is real to the one who believes in
the Supreme Spirit, real to the soul that senses the unity
of the Whole.
Most people
who believe in God believe in prayer; but our idea of prayer
changes as our idea of God changes; and it is natural for
each to feel that his/her way of praying is the correct way.
But we should bear in mind that the prayers which are effective-no
matter whose prayers they may be-are effective because they
embody certain universal principles which, when understood,
can be consciously used" Excerpts from Ernest Holmes, Science
of Mind Textbook
Treatment
This is
why in Science of Mind we expand on the meaning of the word
prayer with the word treatment. As Ernest Holmes writes, "One
of the questions most frequently asked about Science of Mind
is, "Are prayers and treatments identical?" The answer to
this question is both Yes and No."
"If when
one prays her prayers is a recognition of Spirit's Omniscience,
Omnipotence and Omnipresence, and a realization of man's unity
with Spirit, then her prayer is a spiritual treatment.
If, on
the other hand, one is holding to the viewpoint that God is
some far off Being, Whom she would approach with doubt in
her thought; wondering if by some good luck she may be able
to placate God or persuade God of the wisdom of one's request-then,
there is but little similarity between prayer and treatment.
Nothing could bring greater discouragement than to labor under
the delusion that God is a being of moods, who might answer
some prayers and not others.
God manifests
Itself through all individuals. No two people are alike; each
has a unique place in the universe of Mind; each lives in
Mind; each contacts It through his/her own mentality, in an
individual way, drawing from It a unique expression of It's
Divine Nature. If one makes her/himself receptive to the idea
of love, s/he becomes lovable. To the degree that s/he embodies
love, s/he is love; so people who love are loved. Whoever
becomes receptive to the idea of peace, poise and calm-whoever
embodies these divine realities-finds them flowing through
him/her and s/he becomes peaceful, poised and calm.
Prayer
Is Essential To Happiness
Prayer
is not an act of overcoming God's reluctance, but should be
an active acceptance of It's highest willingness. Through
prayer we recognize a spiritual law, that has always existed,
and put ourselves in alignment with it. The law of electricity
might have been used by Moses had he understood this law.
Emerson said: "Is not prayer a study of truth, a sally of
the Soul into the unfound Infinite?"
Prayer
is constructive, because it enables us to establish closer
contact with the Fountain of Wisdom, and we are less likely
to be influenced by appearances around us.- to judge "according
to appearance." Righteous prayer set the "law of the Spirit
of Life" in motion for us.
Prayer
is essential, not to the salvation of the soul, for the soul
is never lost; but to the conscious well-being of the soul
that does not understand itself. There is a vitality in our
communion with the Infinite, which is productive of the highest
good. As fire warms the body, as food strengthens us, as sunshine
raises our spirits, so there is a subtle transfusion of some
invisible force in such communion, weaving itself into the
very warp and woof of our own mentalities. This conscious
commingling of our thought with Spirit is essential to the
well-being of every part of us.
Prayer
has stimulated countless millions of people to higher thoughts
and nobler deeds. That which tends to connect our minds with
the Universal Mind lets in a flood of Its consciousness. If
we think of God as a Heavenly Dictator-something apart from
that which lives and moves and has Its being where we are-then
we are certain to believe ourselves to be disconnected from
this Infinite Presence; and the inevitable consequence of
such thinking would be a terrible fear that we should never
be able to make contact with Infinite Spirit! But if we know
God as an Indwelling Presence, our prayer is naturally addressed
to this Presence in us. We long for, and need, a conscious
union with the Infinite. This is as necessary to the nature
and intellect of man, as food is to the well-being of his
physical body.
Prayer
Is Its Own Answer
Cause
and effect are but two sides of thought and Spirit, being
ALL, is both Cause and Effect. Prayer, then, is its own answer.
The Bible tells us: "Before they call will I answer." Before
our prayer is framed in words, God has already answered, but
if our prayer is one of partial belief, then there is only
a tendency toward its answer; if the next day we wholly doubt,
then there is no answer at all. In dealing with Mind, we are
dealing with a Force we cannot fool. We cannot cheat Principle
out of the slightest shadow of our most subtle concept. The
hand writes and passes on, but the writing remains; and the
only thing that can erase it is writing of a different character.
There is no obstruction one cannot dissipate by the power
of Truth.
So we
learn to go deeply within ourselves, and speak as though there
were a Presence there that knows; and we should take the time
to unearth this hidden cause, to penetrate this inner chamber
of consciousness. It is most worthwhile to commune with Spirit-to
sense and feel It. The approach to Spirit is direct…through
our own consciousness.
The Spirit
flows through us. Whatever intelligence we have is this Spirit
in us. Prayer is its own answer."
Excerpts
from Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind Textbook
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