By Donald Michael Kraig
It makes sense to pray in a way that is likely to get a desired response. Many people’s prayers aren’t answered. Luckily, because so many people have successfully prayed, it is possible to know their four secret steps to successful prayer.
Step One: The Place You Pray is Sacred
Some people think of God as being the “old man with a beard in the clouds.” Most spiritual traditions and religions don’t have that concept. Rather, God is right here, right now, right by you. Prayer is a way of asking God for something. A place where you meet and communicate with God is a sacred temple, church, mosque, etc. That means that any place where you are and choose to pray is a sacred place. Close your eyes and inhale deeply. As you exhale, allow your cares and worries and daily issues to leave with your breath. Know that you are in a holy place as you open your eyes.
Step Two: Formulate Your Prayer by Stating What You Want
You don’t have to say anything special. Just state exactly what you want. If you want something removed (sadness, pain, loneliness, etc.), be sure to share what you want it replaced with. If something is simply removed, it leaves a sort of spiritual vacuum into which anything could flow, including things you don’t want.
Step Three: Pray With Everything You’ve Got
The Bible gives the next key to effective prayer. It appears in Deteronomy 6:5 and again in Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27 and Matthew 22:37. Use all your heart, soul, mind, and strength in your prayers. This is the most important step. Pray as if you already have what you want. As you do, imagine with all your heart, mind, and strength that it is yours. As you pray, imagine what it feels like as if you already have it. Use all of your senses in this. Get passionate about it.
Step Four: Give Thanks
Thank God for any gifts He will give. Give thanks for all of the wonderful things you already have.
And that’s it. Consider the place you will pray, wherever it is, as a place that is holy. Formulate your prayer by requesting what you desire, not just what you want to eliminate. Use your own words but also use every bit of your heart, soul, mind, and strength to pray. Finally, give thanks for what you have and anything you might receive.
Does that sound easy? It is. Prayer isn’t difficult. Truth is usually far easier than any complexities that people might urge you to follow.
If you notice, I haven’t given any formulas to recite. A simple desire, stated with full passion, will be for more effective than a long recitation repeated from rote memory.
Finally, there are two last things to remember. First, even the ancients knew that God (or to them, the gods) help(s) those who help themselves. If you pray for something and then do everything in your life to ignore or act counter to what you want, it’s unlikely that you will receive help in achieving your desire.
Second, we are here for a reason. Mystics tell us that reason is to spiritually evolve. Sometimes, that means we need to experience something we don’t like in order to learn how to deal with it and overcome it. Some people say that God hears all our prayers, but sometimes His answer is, “No.” I would prefer to think that God would believe you are not yet ready to receive what you’re praying for. If you repeatedly pray for something as described without success, change your prayers. Ask for wisdom. Ask what you need to learn to be able to be given what you’re praying for
Develop Your Devotion
For thousands of years, people have prayed. Some pray to a higher power, somepray to angels or spirits, and some pray to God. It seems like everyone wants a little supernatural assistance in everything from winning the lottery, to just getting by or for surviving an illness.It makes sense to pray in a way that is likely to get a desired response. Many people’s prayers aren’t answered. Luckily, because so many people have successfully prayed, it is possible to know their four secret steps to successful prayer.
Step One: The Place You Pray is Sacred
Some people think of God as being the “old man with a beard in the clouds.” Most spiritual traditions and religions don’t have that concept. Rather, God is right here, right now, right by you. Prayer is a way of asking God for something. A place where you meet and communicate with God is a sacred temple, church, mosque, etc. That means that any place where you are and choose to pray is a sacred place. Close your eyes and inhale deeply. As you exhale, allow your cares and worries and daily issues to leave with your breath. Know that you are in a holy place as you open your eyes.
Step Two: Formulate Your Prayer by Stating What You Want
You don’t have to say anything special. Just state exactly what you want. If you want something removed (sadness, pain, loneliness, etc.), be sure to share what you want it replaced with. If something is simply removed, it leaves a sort of spiritual vacuum into which anything could flow, including things you don’t want.
Step Three: Pray With Everything You’ve Got
The Bible gives the next key to effective prayer. It appears in Deteronomy 6:5 and again in Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27 and Matthew 22:37. Use all your heart, soul, mind, and strength in your prayers. This is the most important step. Pray as if you already have what you want. As you do, imagine with all your heart, mind, and strength that it is yours. As you pray, imagine what it feels like as if you already have it. Use all of your senses in this. Get passionate about it.
Step Four: Give Thanks
Thank God for any gifts He will give. Give thanks for all of the wonderful things you already have.
And that’s it. Consider the place you will pray, wherever it is, as a place that is holy. Formulate your prayer by requesting what you desire, not just what you want to eliminate. Use your own words but also use every bit of your heart, soul, mind, and strength to pray. Finally, give thanks for what you have and anything you might receive.
Does that sound easy? It is. Prayer isn’t difficult. Truth is usually far easier than any complexities that people might urge you to follow.
If you notice, I haven’t given any formulas to recite. A simple desire, stated with full passion, will be for more effective than a long recitation repeated from rote memory.
Finally, there are two last things to remember. First, even the ancients knew that God (or to them, the gods) help(s) those who help themselves. If you pray for something and then do everything in your life to ignore or act counter to what you want, it’s unlikely that you will receive help in achieving your desire.
Second, we are here for a reason. Mystics tell us that reason is to spiritually evolve. Sometimes, that means we need to experience something we don’t like in order to learn how to deal with it and overcome it. Some people say that God hears all our prayers, but sometimes His answer is, “No.” I would prefer to think that God would believe you are not yet ready to receive what you’re praying for. If you repeatedly pray for something as described without success, change your prayers. Ask for wisdom. Ask what you need to learn to be able to be given what you’re praying for
No comments:
Post a Comment