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Where would I be without prayer? Prayer is the connection to the Divine that sustains and supports us. Many people will suggest that you need to pray a certain way to "hit the right note" with God. I believe the simplest earnest prayers are just as effective as the proven formulas. What makes the difference in prayer is not the words, but the attitude. If one approaches God with an open heart, it is easier to establish rapport with the Divine, not because God is now available, but because you are now available for that sort of Holy Communion. Some people suggest that to treat the Divine as a figure outside ourselves is to deny the Divine within. In that perspective, prayer is not so much a petition to the Divine as an affirmation of our inherent Divinity. I think prayer is personal. If you wish to view God as an old man who lives on the edge of time granting wishes, I do not think this detracts from your innate Divinity. It's all about personal choice. Personally, I find both paths productive. I do remember one time when I was agonizing over some experience here in 3D and it was totally contrary to what I felt it should have been, under my understanding. I decided one night that I would go and plead my case before God, having no conception really on this side of what I was doing. Being a natural lucid dreamer, it seemed, at that time, that God should be somewhere outside of me, within those dimensions associated with the spiritual, like the astral plane. So, I decided I would take my case to the heavens. I recall being led by my guides, which some people term angels, to a special place where an altar appeared. On this altar was absolutely nothing. It stood raised on a wide circular stone platform that had the night sky as it's only witness. I entered the circle and immediately, a thought barrier was activated as a force field within which my guides could hear absolutely nothing of my prayer. This was deeply personal, between me and God as even the angels consider prayer to the Divine sacred. I flung myself upon the altar and began my tearful tirade over the recent events, of which to be honest I do not even now remember. At the time, I suppose I felt these events were of enormous importance, but as of this point in time I can not even recall what had me in such a state of despair. There, I lay with the stars twinkling above me as I poured out my heart to God. And no one answered. After some time, I decided I had had enough of crying and why wasn't anyone answering? Where was God? So, my despair led me to anger and I began to be really upset that this whole Divinity thing was a farce. So, I yelled out in to the sky: "I hate you! Do you hear me, God? I hate you!" I figured I was safe, that no one was going to hear me anyway except me and maybe God, after all the thought barrier was up. Almost immediately, I saw the sky roll itself back as a giant wave of light came from the darkest corners, like an incoming tsunami, and wiped out the stars with it's brilliance. Within that light was the most awesome love I have ever felt. It swept over me, picking me up and embracing me. Weeping, I realized that God hears all of our prayers, not just the ones we shout to the heavens, but even the careless thoughts that pass through unnoticed by us. It was impossible for God not to hear us. That was the message of this light. And I got up and walked away realizing, I really never needed a special place to meet God. God is there within and outside of us. He is all around us. However we care to meet Him, He will meet us that way. Having said that, there is value to some repetitious prayer, when done with intention. I use John Fitzsimon's prayer recommendations, because I find it to be multi-dimensional and uniquely focusing of my intent. However, having had some Catholic background, I think some of the Catholic prayers, when done with focus and intention, can also raise a person's vibration and help them to feel the Divine surrounding them. I particularly like St. Francis prayers: Peace Prayer "Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life." - Saint Francis And: The Unity Prayer of Protection The light of God surrounds
me. The Unity Prayer I believe also has it's basis in one of Saint Francis prayers, but I haven't pinpointed the source. There was a longer version that I used to know that went something like: God to the left of me, God to the right, God behind and before me, God above and below me. God all around me. This is effective for forming a circle of protection against negative forces. There are a variety of uses for prayer: healing, revelation, inspiration, protection, co-creation. Probably the number one reason I pray is simply to be heard, to know that I am in active partnership and that I am not alone. So many of us in society today are ignored or passed over as unimportant. Our inner gifts remain hidden and unexplored. How wonderful to know that God sees each of us as special and unique! That nothing we do is insignificant enough to be ignored. We are heard. God is listening, waiting for the moment when we allow ourselves to be wrapped in His love. By praying, we access that part of our being that honors our existence as well as God. By accessing that part of us that believes in something outside or within ourselves, we open ourselves to the experience of a greater whole - the multidimensional world.
Copyright © 1999-2005 Claire Moylan |