Prayer

SUN., NOV. 30, 1986, 7:14 AM
CREEKSIDE, PARADISE SPRINGS

Last evening you had a unique experience in prayer, and since this certainly is My domain, you are not truly surprised that I offered you this title on this cool, clear morning. Stay in this spot as long as you can still write. Hear Me, o son, for I have much to say.

I hear more prayers than you can imagine, and they come in an almost infinite variety. I am not more initially moved by one form of prayer than by another. I listen to the heart… the spirit… of the one praying rather than to the words and to the form. Some who speak routine, liturgical prayers are truly praying… and some who sound emotional, even speak in tongues, are merely carrying out another form of liturgy.

I listen for what the prayer means to the one praying. If I take action in accord with the prayer it is as often because of the one who offers the prayer rather than the one prayed for. The most wonderful situation, of course, is when the one praying is sincerely giving self to Me in this spiritual exercise, when the one for whom the prayer is offered is also reaching for My hand, and when the total environment is one of thanks and praise. That is when I am most moved to affect some miracle and “grant the prayer.”

Sometimes, fortunately, I know that the natural circumstances are working toward the circumstance that the prayer desires, and I can smile as the prayer is “answered.” In other instances I know that what the supplicant desires, even fervently, cannot be, and I do feel sorrow, even as I know that the potential for spiritual growth is in the situation that will be. Very occasionally, given all the prayers I hear, I do miraculously change situations, and thus a prayer is genuinely “answered.”

My experience with prayer, however, is such that I know that these miracles don’t work out much better than circumstances I “leave alone.” The performing of one miracle may then require another and another to achieve what is finally desired. My “better way” is just to work in the hearts and spirits of those affected and let the natural results come as they come.

Let’s go back to My entry statement. As the one praying is sincere and dedicated to Me the offering of a prayer for another is an act of giving and is an energizer of the spirit. As you move toward Me in prayer you move toward an eventual reunion with Me, in total. As you are the one for whom the prayer is offered your spirit may be moved toward Me. Oh, there is much that can come from prayer other than what precisely is the focus of the prayer. You know, in a parallel way, that there is as much spiritual value in your coming to Me in this way, for this morning meditation, as in the actual Teachings. You listen, and the are called to write down what you hear, but the very act of offering yourself to Me while you could be doing other things brings you benefit all through the day.

There was benefit last evening in the group of you praying together. To be part of a praying group is to be in supreme human relationship. Even when the form of prayer offered by another is strange, even humorous, to you, the participation can be a spirit-enriching experience, if you appreciate it as you should. You should be closer to people with whom you have been in prayer than with those you have not. Even prayers before a meal can bring forth this spiritual comraderie.

Prayer is your speaking to Me, in audible words or not. Meditation is your listening to Me, hearing My words of comfort, wisdom, correction, even rebuke. I want to hear you, and I want you to hear Me. The balance may be different from day to day, but balance and harmony are important.