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Dynamics for Living
Prayer
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[Dynamics for Living]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
IT IS unthinkable that the Creator should cause to exist a
creation so inferior to Himself as to remove it beyond the
pale of fellowship with Him. In his wise moments man knows
that this is not logical or true. It is man's exalted
concepts of God and his disparaging beliefs about himself
that have built the mental wall that separates them.
Thus man must understand the nature of
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God and awaken in himself that divine nature through which
to effect his conscious union with Him. God is Spirit. We
are the offspring of this Spirit. God is Mind: man is the
thinker. God is Life: man is the living. God is Substance:
man is form and shape. God is Power: man is powerful. God
is Wisdom: man is wise. God is Love: man is loving. God is
Truth: man is truthful.
God-Mind is a treasure field of all potentialities within
man in which is found the fulfillment of every need one can
possibly have. What we need to know above all is that there
is this place within our soul where we can consciously meet
God and receive a flood of new life into not only our mind
but also our body. With a right understanding of man's
relation to his potentialities his soul grows with infinite
capacity.
Intimate Spirit
The intimate connecting spirit that unites man and his
source is the divine Logos. It is in the highest sense an
innate spiritual umbilical cord that connects us with the
Holy Mother from whom we can receive a perpetual flow of
life. Because of this man instinctively feels and knows
from whence his help comes. In the divine Logos is the
living impetus that vitalizes the soul of man and enables
him to develop his latent powers.
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Soul Urge
The highest avenue through which God can express Himself is
man. All growth and unfoldment from atom to sun is based
upon the law of soul urge. The hungering for God that is
felt by man in his soul is really God hungering to express
through man. The Spirit of God in man is constantly
working, yes, steadily and persistently working, to
transmute every natural impulse of mind and soul into a
spiritual realization of life. God is always seeking to
awaken man's whole soul to His mighty presence. He is
working to satisfy man's inner craving with living
substance and intelligence, thus expanding and rounding his
soul and body consciousness, offering him opportunity to
express Divine Mind itself more fully and more perfectly.
Desire
Deep desire is essential for spiritual growth. It is the
onward impulse of the ever-evolving soul. It builds from
within outward and carries its fulfillment with it as a
necessary corollary. Man has never had a desire that could
not somewhere, in the providence of God, be fulfilled. If
this were not true, the universe would be weak at its most
vital point.
Sincere desire is a form of prayer. Every impulse or desire
of the soul for life, love, light, is a prayer. It is a
conscious expression of an upward.
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trend of nature found everywhere. Earnest, intense desire
draws the whole being up out of mortality and its transient
joys into the power to appreciate and receive real
spiritual blessings.
Prayer without desire in it, prayer without sincerity in
it, prayer without soul in it, prayer without Spirit in it
is fruitless prayer. So, when you frame your desires in
sound words and place them before your indwelling Lord, you
are using intelligently the supreme law of God in bringing
into manifestation that which He has implanted in you.
Spiritual Character
We find prayer to be many-sided; it is not only asking but
receiving, also. We must pray believing that we shall
receive. Prayer is both invocation and affirmation.
Meditation, concentration, denial, and affirmation in the
silence are all forms of what is loosely termed prayer.
Through prayer we develop the highest phase of character.
Spiritual character building is from within outward.
Spiritual character lives in man. It is what God has
engraved on man's soul, ready for development through man's
spiritual efforts. It is a reserve force of organized
victory over human thought.
Man builds spiritual character by consciously functioning
in God-Mind where, laying hold
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of spiritual ideas, he realizes the Truth they contain. He
thus weaves them into his soul consciousness and they
become a part of his very nature.
Conscious Union
All down the ages man has been making the spiritual effort
to realize conscious union with that innermost center where
Truth in all its glory abides eternally. Actually, prayer
is man's steady effort to know God. He can make conscious
contact with Spirit by turning his attention away from
material things and thinking about Spirit. Through prayer
he gains an intimate relationship with God.
The ability to merge our mind into the one Mind makes a
great man of us. When man awakens even a slight
consciousness of the cooperative Spirit, he becomes a
co-creator with God. There is a partial conscious unity
with Spirit and there is a complete conscious unity with
Spirit; however, whenever man wholly merges his mind with
the creative Mind he is in the consciousness in which his
prayers are fulfilled. He finds that he can adjust any
condition that comes into his life.
Everyone should pray. Prayer does not change God! It
changes us!
Effective prayer does not agonize. No man
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who has fused his soul with the soul of God has suffered or
agonized. The suffering comes as a result of separation and
the effort to return to the consciousness of Omnipresence.
Accept the urge to begin the practice of prayer. Through it
make contact with the Source of your being. In prayer you
are able to recognize the Source. As you practice prayer
your innate Spirit showers its life energies into your
conscious mind and a great soul expansion follows.
In your prayers you must meet God face to face and realize
that you are getting that inner assurance which is the real
answer. Your most effective prayers are those in which you
rise above all consciousness of time and space. In this
state of mind you automatically contact the Spirit of God.
When you elevate your consciousness to Spirit, the God
presence becomes meaningful to you. The God presence is an
abiding flame, a flame of life, of life everlasting in
every cell and fiber of being making you more alive,
cleansing and purifying until you become every whit
perfect. During high realizations of Truth you are
conscious of this abiding flame that works in and through
you.
In this state of at-one-ment you truly become aware of
sublimity and power. The God presence establishes you in
spiritual ideas which
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are needed factors in the unfoldment of the whole man.
Interest
In prayer what should be our attitude, our interest, as we
approach the divine presence? If we knew that right now we
were about to be ushered into the presence of Jesus, to
what extent would our spiritual expectancy be aroused? No
doubt we should be thrilled through and through at the mere
thought. Let us feel this same intense interest, this same
concern, as we approach the divine presence within ourself.
It will add much to the readiness with which we receive
Truth.
Asking
Understanding shows that prayer is more than asking God for
help in this physical world. Actually, we have become a
human race of praying beggars. Prayer is not supplication
or begging. It is more than supplication. Supplication is
impotent. Do not supplicate or beg God to give you what you
need. Prayer is a simple asking for that which we know is
waiting for us at the hands of our Father and an
affirmation of its existence.
When Jesus advised asking for what we want, He was
instructing us to be persistent in our demands. People
ignorant of the relation in which man stands to God wonder
why we
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should ask and even importune a Father who has provided all
things for us. This is explained when we perceive that God
is a great mind reservoir that has to be tapped by man's
mind and poured into visibility through his thought and
word. If the mind of man is clogged with doubt, lethargy,
or fear, he must open the way by persistent knocking and
asking. Acquire in prayer a facility in asking equal to the
mathematician's expertness in handling numbers and you will
get responses in proportion.
Undoubtedly the one thing that stands out prominently in
the teaching of Jesus is the necessity of prayer. He prayed
on the slightest pretext, or in some such manner invoked
the presence of God. He prayed over situations that most
men would deal with without the intervention of God. If He
were verily God incarnate, the skeptic often asks, why did
He so often appeal to an apparently higher God? To answer
this doubt intelligently and truly one must understand the
constitution of man.
There are always two men in each individual. The man
without is the picture that the man within paints with his
mind. This mind is the open door to the unlimited principle
of Being. When Jesus prayed He was setting into action the
various powers of His individuality in order to bring about
certain results. Within His identity
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was of God; without He was human personality.
Prayer with a Purpose
When we pray, let us pray with a purpose. Purpose gives
life a real meaning. Purpose gives joy and zest to living.
When our eye is on the goal we are not so easily perturbed.
Purpose awakens new trains of thought. Purpose directs
these trains of thought into new fields of achievement. To
succeed we must have some great purpose in mind, some goal
toward which we are to work. Above all, we must always
purpose in our heart to achieve spiritually. As we study
the one great Presence and Power, we come to know that
there is no chapter in our life that is such a failure but
has back of it a grand purpose, which purpose must
eventually somewhere, somehow work itself out in a most
ennobling manner.
Communion with God
Prayer is communion between God and man. This communion
takes place in the innermost part of man's being. It is the
only way to cleanse and perfect the consciousness.
Prayer is the most highly accelerated mind action known. It
steps up mental action until man's consciousness
synchronizes with the Christ
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Mind. It is the language of spirituality. When developed,
prayer makes man master in the realm of creative ideas.
As in all matters where we seek divine help we are free to
use any words we choose or no words at all. However, to a
person in the understanding of Truth, prayer should be an
affirmation of that which is in Being. What is the
necessity of the prayer of affirmation if Being already is?
In order that the creative law of the Word may be
fulfilled. What you earnestly desire and persistently
affirm will be yours.
The Silence
The highest form of prayer we know is quietly entering the
inner chamber within the soul, shutting the door to the
external thoughts of daily life, and seeking conscious
union with God. Prayer is man's steady effort to know God.
Through prayer we gain an intimate relationship with God.
The purpose of the silence is to still the activity of the
personal thought so that the still small voice of God may
be heard. For in the silence Spirit speaks Truth to us and
just that Truth of which we stand in need.
When entering the silence, close the eyes and ears to the
without. Go to God within and hold the mind steadily on the
word until that word illumines the whole inner
consciousness.
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Think what the mighty vitalizing energy of God releases.
Penetrate deep into God consciousness within yourself and
hold your prayer word steadily until you attain spiritual
realization and the logic of your own mind is satisfied.
To realize an idea in the silence is to clothe it with
life, substance, and intelligence. To realize a prayer is
to actualize it. To realize it is to clothe it with soul,
to know there is fulfillment.
The word of prayer has in it a living seed that is bound to
impregnate the soil of the mind and cause it to bring forth
fruit after its kind.
Intellectual and Spiritual Silence
It is man's concept of God that makes prayer intellectual
or spiritual. There is a vast difference between mere
intellectual silence and that constructive silence which
always gives the victory within the soul. The intellectual
silence, which is limited in power, is the silence where
one's whole attention is fixed on the intellect. The
intellect has thought its power supreme. While it is a
wonderful faculty, it is in truth the tool of Spirit. As
such it needs discipline if it is to be able to perform its
perfect work. The intellect is always busy, jumping from
one thing to another. Much of the time it dwells on the
daily routine of the
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workaday world or on conditions in the world at large. The
first step in scientific silence is simply to still these
outer intellectual thoughts so that the consciousness may
become subservient to the Spirit within.
The operation of prayer saves the soul from all past and
future mistakes. In prayer we are led not to doubt,
distrust, or hate man but to love him with all our mind,
soul, and strength. Instead of fighting life and struggling
to compete with millions of others in the same foolish war,
we cooperate. Instead of wasting energy in tearing down, we
conserve in building up. Prayer shows humanity how to love
life, how to love the Author of life, and how to love
life's activities. In this state of consciousness man
automatically drops the burdens of the intellect and enters
into the freedom of real living. Man must have the
spiritual ability to discern life's perfect pattern if he
is to fulfill the requirements of scientific prayer.
By quieting the mental man, by passing through the
discipline of intellectual silence, man arrives at the very
threshold of God's workshop, the threshold of Being. As he
passes into the inner chamber he finds he is entering the
holy of holies, where noiselessly, silently, a mighty work
is always going on. God works in the stillness.
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As man comes into the presence of God with his prayer in
the form of an affirmation of Truth, holding the prayer
steadily in mind and consciously unifying his mind with the
mind of God, he is aware only of the soundlessness of God's
Word as it weaves itself in and out through the whole soul
and body consciousness, illumining, redeeming, and
restoring him according to his faith and trust, according
to his strength and power to receive.
Meditation
Persistent meditation on the Truth contained in the Word of
God opens the mind to a greater inflow of Spirit. When we
let our meditations fall on the knowing part of ourself, we
go into a higher mental state or an exalted condition of
mind, wherein we receive a higher and clearer conception of
things spiritual. Every student of Truth builds the Christ
body as he constantly abides in the Christ mind through
daily meditation upon words of Truth. Then all words become
quickening life and nourishing substance in both mind and
body.
Attention and Concentration
In prayer attention is the concentration of the mind upon a
statement of Truth. Man can take a word of Truth
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and through "one-pointed" mind concentration unite his
consciousness with the Mind of God. He can hold a realizing
prayer until the truth it contains is engrafted into the
very soul. Through the engrafted word, he becomes a strong,
positive spiritual character.
Attention is focalizing the I AM or inner entity upon a
word of prayer, until the inner meaning is realized and the
soul is aware of a definite spiritual uplift. As a lens
focalizes the sun's rays at a given point--and we know how
intense that point of light may become--concentration
focalizes the mind on a single idea until it becomes
manifest and objective.
In concentration the Holy Spirit works through the divine
mother substance to bring forth the fruits of Divine Mind.
The Holy Spirit is the teacher. The teacher and the student
use the same principles, but the teacher arouses and
inspires the student to greater achievement. The Holy
Spirit urges us to great spiritual effort.
When we direct the mental powers upon a definite idea,
faith plays its part. It is involved in concentration. As
we give attention to the idea through one-pointed mind
concentration, we break into a realm of finer mind activity.
Realization
In spiritual silence man's realization is established in his
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heart and he has the assurance that his prayer is answered
and that the law of demonstration brings forth the fruit.
The realization is written not only in the soul but in the
intellect. The intellect always perceives what has taken
place within and has power to retain its perception and to
express itself accordingly. Thus the intellect serves
Spirit, and as it unfolds it becomes more and more like
Spirit. It becomes in deed and in truth the instrument of
God.
Realization is the deep inner conviction and assurance of
the fulfillment of an ideal. It means at-one-ment,
completion, perfection, wholeness, repose, resting in God.
It is the dawning of Truth in the consciousness. When
realization takes place, one abides in the light of
God-Mind. It is the inner conviction that prayer has been
answered, although there is as yet no outer manifestation.
The supreme realization is unity with God-Mind.
Constructive thought force is a great and mighty power.
When it is realized in the silence it becomes the one and
only power in all the earth. The understanding of this
makes one an adept in the domain of scientific prayer.
Prayer and Faith
It is necessary to pray believing that we have
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received because God is all that we desire. The good always
exists in Divine Mind as ideas. We bring it into
manifestation through the prayer of faith, affirmation,
praise, and acknowledgment.
Within the deep stillness of the soul, listen first to the
innate voice of faith. Man builds up an enduring state of
faith by repeated realizations of Truth. The illumination
thus gained comes forth in man as spiritual understanding
expressed in sound words. Faith draws upon substance.
Dynamic, creative, transforming power is roused to
spiritual action when man affirms his unity with
Almightiness and his undaunted faith in its power.
Man must not only be submissive and obedient to the divine
law, but he must also realize that he is the offspring of
the Ruler of the universe. When asking the Father for that
which belongs to the Son under the divine law, man should
assume the power and dignity of the Prince of Peace. He
should not crawl and cringe before an imaginary king on a
throne. Instead he should feel that he is the image of an
invisible Being who has created him to represent His
mightiness as well as His lovingkindness.
The prayer of faith is not supplication, a begging God to
give things to man. Prayer at its highest is the entry
through faith into a realm of mind forces that when rightly
contacted
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change the character of every cell in brain and body.
Faith, the conviction of a higher providing Source, is
based upon spiritual logic or innate reason and on the
certainty that an all-wise and all-powerful Creator's plan
includes necessary provision for His offspring. When man
emerges from the limitations of human consciousness and
feels within him the stirring of Spirit, he finds that it
is supremely logical and true that Spirit has provided for
his supply and support.
When we have achieved spiritual realization of our prayer
and our innermost soul is satisfied, we have the assurance
that the thing is accomplished in Spirit and must become
manifest. We may continue in our realization of faith until
the whole consciousness responds and the instantaneous
demonstration takes place. Prayer is impotent and
unfruitful when the one who prays is without the firm
belief that his prayers are answered. When man turns
wholeheartedly to God, the prayer of faith brings forth
abundantly. Since the prayer of faith is the activity of
divine love, let us pray without ceasing, knowing that God
hears and grants our petitions.
Faith is the fire of Spirit. Faith opens the door into an
inner consciousness, where we hold the word steadily in
mind until the spiritual
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substance responds to our word. Earnest, steady, and
continued attention along this line is bound to bring forth
the fruits of the Spirit in abundant measure. A steady,
unwavering devotion of heart to the Spirit develops in us
supermind qualities.
Prayer and Praise
Praise is the quality of mind that eulogizes the good. It
is one of the avenues through which spirituality expresses.
The purpose of praise is to awaken in ourself a higher
realization of the omnipresence and power of God. Prayer
and praise change man, not God. The mental attitude that
praise sets up stimulates, quickens, whirls into action,
and finally establishes in character the ideals of which it
is the vehicle. Through an inherent law of mind action we
increase whatever we praise. Make practical application of
the law of praise by giving thanks always for all things.
Prayer and Joy
No man yet knows all of life's joys, nor will he until he
has come into the full understanding of spiritual communion
with God. No man knows the fullness of life, nor its joys,
until he has prayed in meekness and thanksgiving and has
received the sweet, pure realizations of Spirit.
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True and lasting joy arises from within. The nature of the
deep inner life is revealed only to those who spiritually
penetrate into its source.
If you would feed the soul on the joys of Spirit, you must
realize them and give thanks in prayer for the more
abundant life. Then you find that a great subconscious well
of living water will begin to bubble up in your soul. You
will come to know that hitherto you have been living in the
shallows of life instead of in its mighty depths. You will
be blessed with a knowledge of the unity of all things, and
a great peace and harmony will well up within.
It is impossible to found a lasting stronghold within on
anything less than the understanding that God is a God of
joy. It is through our realization of this truth that we
drink heartily of the wine of life. Often even during
serene, yes, sober moments, the inner man is athrill with
some newborn, joyful anticipation. In prayer every high
realization that comes to us is to strengthen us for
greater achievements.
Conditions for True Prayer
These are the seven necessary conditions for true prayer:
1. God should be recognized as Father. 2. Oneness with God
should be acknowledged. 3. Prayer must be made within, in
"the secret place." 4. The door
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must be closed on all thoughts and interests of the outer
world. 5. The one who prays must believe that he has
received. 6. The kingdom of God must be desired above all
things, and sought first. 7. The mind must let go of every
unforgiving thought.
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[Dynamics for Living]
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