The Effectiveness of Prayer

 

The Effectiveness of Prayer


In previous posts we have studied the power of focused thoughts. Since this label is devoted to Mysticism, we will describe briefly here the way that this power can be applied to the service of God through prayer.

Is there any one of us who had not doubted at times the effectiveness of prayer? How often have we prayed for a certain result, only to fail in its achievement? We may even, perhaps, see the situation worsen. We have already discussed some of the errors that we make that interfere with the effectiveness of our prayers. All of these problems stem from our failing to direct and focus are thoughts and emotions: doubt (lack of conviction in the result of praying), fear, focusing on the problem instead of the Source of healing. Now it is time for us to look for what does work; that is, what kind of prayer produces results. And, of course, we look to Jesus as our guide and teacher.

First, he tells us the parable of the widow and the judge. The gist of this parable is that the widow at first fails in her effort to get the judge to help her, but she returns a second time and again fails, but she doesn't give up. She nags the judge until she succeeds. Jesus explains that the moral of this parable is that initial lack of success in prayer must not deter us from continuing.

Now, let us examine a second lesson on prayer. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Here, two points should be considered: two rather than one, and agreeing. I have read and heard an explanation of this scripture that compares the two prayers to two threads. It is known that a cord made of two threads is stronger than the two threads held parallel to one another, provided that the threads are twisted or plaited together. In the analogy, this combining of the threads corresponds to the agreeing of the two prayer partners.

However, a third factor may be involved, because the verse immediately following the one cited is: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” It is not sufficient for two or three to gather. The condition “in my name” must be satisfied. In both the Old Testament, and the New, names are often assigned or changed to signify a certain quality or nature. Here, “in my name” signifies a recognition that we are not bodies but spiritual children of God. So we are not praying as bodies asking for a blessing from God, but as His children, claiming the power that we have as such.

Let's consider these conditions from a spiritual point of view. Why is “two or three” together so much more important than several “ones” separately. The answer goes back to the very nature of God and His children. Christ, the Son of God, is the spirit of unity, of oneness in spirit; whereas the ego is the spirit of separation. Coming together “in my name” means “in recognition of the fact that we are one, as children of our Heavenly Father”. This kind of praying together is an act of spirit as we were originally created, and as such represents a step back toward our Father and our true home. It is only one step, but it is the most important one, if it is the first one to be followed by more.

There is one more passage regarding prayer that needs consideration. It is in the 15th chapter of John: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”. In more recent translations, “abide' is rendered as “remain”. This condition goes far beyond those described in previous passages, because it asks us, not just to shift from the world of physical perception into the world of spirit when we pray, but to abide in that world of spirit. This doesn't mean that we don't acknowledge the physical body at all, because it needs to be serviced in order to function, even if that function is continually in the service of spirit. What it does mean is that the individual never departs from the awareness that he is a spirit and that the body that he directs is only a device and does not possess true life - which is eternal. Fortunately, this condition, which would require enormous commitment for most of us, is only a requirement if we would be completely and continually above and beyond all limitations of this world of space and time. However, there are rare individuals (e.g. St. Francis, Padre Pio, et. al.) that have come so close to this standard that they experienced may miracles and revelations.

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