Prayer... Step by Step

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TODAY’S READING:
435.2-436.1

First and foremost, before we address today’s reading… let’s define the word “prayer” for our purposes.

What prayer is:

A deliberate use of thought, expressed through spoken word, to purposefully activate the Infinite Law of Cause and Effect in order to produce a shift in consciousness, thereby creating a shift in experience.

What prayer is NOT:

Begging. Pleading. Hoping. Overcoming the reluctance of a deity. Convincing a deity that you are worthy of anything.

I use the term prayer as a shorthand for what most in the Religious Science movement will call “Treatment” (Spiritual Mind Treatment). When I say “prayer” I am specifically referring to the former definition, and do not in any way associate it with the latter definition.

Why is this important? It is important because it places the power of the prayer right back into the hands of the person praying. When we plead or beg for our good, we are essentially saying, “my good is derived from something (or someone) else.” It is not. The good we seek is inherent within each of us, because it is the fundamental basis for our being. If we are God, to whom would we be praying? So prayer is speaking AS, not TO.

This is what today’s reading in the Science of Mind is offering: Jesus taught this very concept.

When we ask in prayer, we are asking of ourselves.

When we seek in prayer, we seeking within ourselves.

When we knock on the door in prayer, we are knocking on the door of our own being.

“For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” - Matthew 7:8

Is it that simple? Actually it is.

So why are my prayers not answered?

This is where belief becomes the issue. What is the actual belief behind the prayer? Or, put another way, do you actually believe in what you are praying for? If not, there is the work to be done.

None of it should be hard, though. It is a matter of logically working through the process and arriving at a conclusion that cannot be argued down in our own mind. This is why we teach a method of prayer in steps. A couple blog posts ago I explained the first two steps:

1. Recognition - That is to acknowledge that the only thing that exists is God; the Infinite, loving, creative energy of the Universe. All that exists is of God and there is absolutely nothing separate from that (for if there were, then God would be finite).

2. Unification - This step is the logical progression of the previous step: If God is all there is, and I am part of all that is, then I must be of God. (More and more I am thinking this step should be renamed “Identification” because we are actually identifying ourselves AS god, not Unifying WITH God—note the subtle distinction of separation in the latter)

So what are the other steps? Well, once we’ve identified who we are then it is simply up to us to state our requirement. This is done in the third step:

3. Declaration - In this step we declare what it is we require as God.

Once we have stated this requirement, then let us be thankful for it and for this Infinite wisdom. This is the purpose of step four:

4. Gratitude - “Gratitude is one of the chief graces of human existence…” - Ernest Holmes

The final step of the prayer is intended for us to step aside and allow the Law of Cause and Effect to easily do its thing.

5. Release - Let go, allow. This is the act of faith. In release we basically step aside and trust that what follows is the perfect answer to the prayer.

While it was not taught in five steps by Jesus, the Bible passage referred to in today’s Science of Mind reading is essentially based in the same thing: faith.

When we align in harmony with the nature of our being, then the flow of life follows that consciousness.

This works for everyone. Not just for some, and not better for some than others. It works based on the level of our OWN receptivity. So it is something to work with.

Try it! Consider something you would like to experience in your life and use the five step method above to make your unshakable claim. See what unfolds following! I know you will be pleased.