Secrets of Prayer: Making Prayer Work For You
Posted on July 7, 2009
Filed Under Effective Thinking, Manifestation - Creation, The Belief Formula
If you’re like me, then there are things in life that you’d like to change. In fact, most people spend their lives trying to change things in one way or another. Throughout history, some people have intuited their ability to use their own thought processes to engage a creative agency and influence changes. Many of these same people have contemplated and perfected the use of their thoughts — though it is not the easiest thing for human beings to master. Though there are many names for this innate human ability, many people simply call it, “prayer.” And you can indeed use your thoughts to effectively create practically any change you truly desire — if you understand some things very few people ever think about.
One of the first things you need to understand is that prayer is not a “magic trick” to be used to conjure unlikely circumstances or unbelievable events. Prayer is a function of human thought that requires certain elements in order to be used effectively and reliably. There are many ways humans use their faculties of thought and belief; but most people do not use their thoughts and awareness in such a way as to create the changes they desire in their lives. Most people use their thoughts to create worry and stress and to sabotage themselves by dwelling on negativity rather than focusing on their goals and desires.
It is not my desire to convince you to trade your belief systems for mine; I am only encouraging you to look more deeply into the details of your own though processes — specifically those you have been calling, “prayer.” Most people grow into adults with the same basic beliefs they were GIVEN as children — with little thought ever given to the reality that, if they had been born in a different place, they would have been given different beliefs. Reality is not a function of geography or culture; only belief systems depend on where you were born or enculturated. If you were born to different parents, you would believe different things; but that doesn’t change the underlying nature of reality. The wise ones in every culture have always realized the limitations of the stories we tell to try and make sense of creation and reality. You can also transcend the limitations you were given as a child and consciously become more aware of the power of your own thoughts.
Every religion and culture has a basic understanding that, “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be,” as Buddha said, or, to quote the words of Jesus, “As a man thinketh, so it is done unto him.” Every society has had its wise men who have always reminded us that, “It’s the thought that counts,” and that “If you can believe it, you can achieve it.” Yet how much time do you spend contemplating the nature of your thoughts? If you’re like most people, you invest a great deal of time thinking about the problems in your life but very little time shaping your thoughts or considering their creative power. This tendency to focus on the negative is often attributed to our innate human nature; but creativity is also innate to humans. We need only spend time learning to consciously direct our thoughts, and actually doing it, if we wish to take more active control over the circumstances and events in our lives.
Consider what most people call, “prayer.” They close their eyes, bow their heads, and mentally dialogue with an unseen agency they hope will act on their thoughts in such a way as to form something new in their lives. Most people do this habitually at certain times of day, or ritualistically in certain circumstances or environments — such as church, etc. However, even people who pray quite regularly often spend much more time using their same mind and thought processes to ponder, contemplate, imagine, or otherwise dwell on negativity and things they don’t want in their lives. Has it ever occurred to you that a thought is a thought? Have you always believed that the creative agency you send your prayers to simply ignores the rest of your thoughts — discarding all messages originating from you except those you only occasionally give your attention to? What does your life tell you? Does the evidence you are surrounded by look more like your occasional prayers, or does it more closely resemble the thoughts you are constantly thinking? Be honest with yourself; I’ve already discovered the answer for myself.
If you want to make prayer work for you, all you need to do is learn to pay attention to yourself — your desires, your surroundings, your thoughts, and your tendencies. Learn to dwell on positive things; and learn to stay focused on the things you desire until you can truly feel a belief in those things growing within you. Things are done to you according to your beliefs; but you must truly believe in your dreams in order to make them become reality. Of course there may be other things you need to do — other actions you must take in order to realize your goals and dreams — but you must pay attention to your thoughts in order to hear your inner guidance; and you must pay attention to the world around you in order to see the answers to your prayers unfold for you. Prayer is thought we give special attention to. Why not learn to think more effectively and give special attention to the things you want?
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The Belief Formula
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I always thought that there is some sort of built-in mind power in every one of us.*’*