In looking back at 2021, there were many opportunities to pray. And it recently occurred to me that it does not make a bit of difference to Spirit whether we pray or not. It does, however, make a big difference to us. I thought about this when a five-year-old boy was asked to give the prayer before dinner. The youngster began his prayer by thanking God for his mom and dad and all his friends. He thanked God for his brother and sister as well as his grandparents and aunts and uncles. He went on to give thanks for all the food they were about to eat. He named the foods one by one - the chicken, the fruit salad, the apple sauce, potatoes, the pies, cakes, whipped cream, and so on.
Then the boy paused. Everyone waited. And waited. And waited. Then after a long silence, the boy looked up at his mom and asked, “If I thank God for the broccoli, won’t God know that I’m lying?” The story helped remind me that our prayers don’t affect God. The purpose of prayer is to raise our consciousness to demonstrate more, and never less, of our true self.
For effectual prayer, the Ancient Wisdom teachings use affirmations. We all know that an “affirmation” is a statement in the present tense that reinforces the truth of our being. It is something we want to see manifest in our life, even if it is not showing up right now.
An example of a traditional “affirmation” might be: “I am healthy.” If we are going through a health challenge, I have discovered that when we speak such an affirmation, we may hear a voice that says: “Yeah, right!” The reality is that many times we don’t believe our own affirmation because we may be trying to convince ourselves of something, that on some level, we don’t believe. Now, the teachings suggest that even if we don’t believe in the affirmation, we are to speak our “affirmation” repeatedly until we eventually believe it. There are times this works.
However, have you ever said an affirmation such as “I am prosperous”, “I am happy”, or “I have enough”, and nothing changes? There is something we can add to boost the effectiveness of our affirmations, and that is to supplement our affirmations with powerful questions. Our minds are constantly asking and seeking answers to questions. So, to enhance the potency of our prayer work, we want to ask ourselves empowering questions. When we do, our minds go on a hunt to find the answers.
For example, when affirming “I am healthy” when appearances suggest otherwise, we can ask “Why am I healthy?” Our mind will automatically go on a search for the answer. There is a universal law found in the scriptural statement, “Ask and it shall be given to you.” But many people ask dis-empowering questions like, “How can this get any worse?” or “Why can’t I do anything right?” The universe, being all-powerful and all-knowing, gives them the answer to questions that they ask.
Empowering questions cause our minds to focus on what we really want, and they stop us from focusing on what we don’t want. When we add this element to an affirmative prayer, we turbo boost the technology of prayer. It’s a new year. Try it and let me know your experience.
Happy New Year!
Peace and Blessings,
James
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