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Teach Us To Pray
Prosperity through Prayer
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[Teach Us To Pray]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
Prosperity through Prayer
"NOW THERE cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons
of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband
is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear
Jehovah: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two
children to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What
shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house?
And she said, Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house,
save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels
abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not
a few. And thou shalt go in, and shut the door upon thee
and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and
thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from
him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons; they
brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. And it came
to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her
son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is
not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and
told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay
thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest."
The story of Elisha and the little pot of oil that at his
command and with her co-operation filled all
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the vessels in her house and also those of all her
neighbors so that she had enough oil to pay all her debts,
free her children from bondage, and provide a living for
herself and her sons, reveals the working of a mighty law.
Metaphysically the meaning of the name Elisha is "God is a
saviour; God of deliverance; to whom God gives victory; God
is rich." The widow typifies a belief in lack, a thought or
a line of thought in consciousness that has fallen away
from that inner union with the divine source (husband) and
as a result is suffering from lack of supply.
Elisha (meaning also "God is rich") showed this woman how
to shut the door and realize that her supply came from
within. Then he revealed to her how to pour out the oil
(love) of plenty, and how it would prove a permanent
supply. Any thought is a prayer in which we realize that
our desires, God directed, are answered the very moment
they are expressed.
Christian metaphysicians find that words that express
thanks, gratitude, and praise, release energies of mind and
spirit, and their use is usually followed by effects so
pronounced that they are quickly identified with the
originating words, effect being merged in cause.
Let your words of praise and blessing be to Spirit and the
increase will be even greater than it is when they are
addressed to man. The resources of Spirit are beyond our
highest flights of imagination. You can praise a weak body
into strength; a fearful
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heart into peace and trust; shattered nerves into poise and
power; a failing business into prosperity and success; want
and insufficiency into supply and support.
Do not beg in your prayers, but praise and give thanks for
the new self-manifesting God of abundance fulfilling every
desire of your heart.
Make a "date" daily with God and keep it. He will never
fail you. Some persons are overtimid about their religion.
They fear ridicule and misunderstanding. A certain banker
had established a certain time each day for going into the
silence to pray. His bank, which was located in a country
town, needed to borrow what it considered a large sum of
money, and he was in New York City negotiating for the
loan, but without apparent success. However he was strong
in the silence and trusted God regardless of appearances.
While he was talking the matter of the loan over with the
New York City banker his "silence hour" approached, and our
country banker was puzzled what to do. He finally decided
to be honest with God, and in the midst of the apparently
unfavorable discussion in regard to the loan, he quietly
announced that he always devoted a few moments to prayer at
that hour and begged to be excused.
The face of the city banker at once lighted up. He
instantly recognized that this country friend had something
that he did not have: he was poised, peaceful, trustful in
the face of defeat. So the city banker hesitatingly replied
that he also was in the
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habit of observing a daily moment of prayer and that he
would gladly join him. Then and there they entered the
silence together and had a high realization of God's power
to supply and to bless. At the conclusion of their prayer
session the city banker informed the country banker that he
was satisfied that his securities were good and that the
loan would be made without delay.
Emerson's inspiration or comment on prayer was "Prayer is
the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest
point of view. Prayer is the soliloquy of a beholding and
jubilant soul. It is the Spirit of God pronouncing His
works good. But prayer as a means of effecting a private
end is theft and meanness. It presupposes dualism and not
unity in nature and consciousness. As soon as a man is at
one with God he does not beg. He then sees prayer in all
action."
Father Almighty! We bow before Thine infinite goodness, and
invoke in prayer Thine all-merciful presence of love.
We ask, and as we ask we give thanks that Thy power and
presence are here in love and that we are tightly held in
Thine all-embracing arms, where our every need is supplied
and where we shall ever rest secure from all the buffets of
the world.
Open to us the inner chambers of peace and harmony, which
divinely belong to us as Thy children.
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We come as little children into the sacred and trustful
presence of Thy love, knowing full well that only love can
draw and hold us in peace and harmony and prosperity.
Every fear falls away as we enter into Thee and Thy glory
of love and as we bask in the sunshine of love, Thy love,
Thy never-failing love!
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[Teach Us To Pray]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
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