What Is Prayer?

by Rosemary DiFlorio
(Mississauga, ON Canada)

Prayer is calling for God’s help

Prayer is a state of beingness

by Robert Gresak
(South Africa)

I find that often the use of prayer falls away and i simply enter into 'beingness' which is the closest term available.

One simply learns 'to be', a flowing into that
timeless 'moment' where everything of a temporal nature is resolved or dissolved into that 'beingness'.

It follows the long path of prayer meditation, study and invocation as well as service ( often of many years duration )and i always feel so very blessed and humble.

The path of prayer, meditation and service is of course the royal path to ascension as has been demonstrated and proved down the ages by all the Great Lords and Masters of the spiritual Hierarchy.


Note from webmaster Katherine T Owen

Thank you Robert. I relate to your words. :-)
What a joy it is to rest in God.

HERE there are no problems, and there is nothing to ask for.

I think King David spoke of being in this place of God when he wrote:

The Lord is my shepherd.
There is nothing I shall want.

We are the answer to
our own prayers

by Shaun
(Swindon, UK)

Hi Katherine,

Something my prayer leader said in our prayer section today:
"We are the answer to our own prayers".

What do you think?

I am increasingly of the belief that it is within our capability to re-shape or transform our lives 'here on earth' under divine guidance into the "heaven" that we envisage ..........

Shaun x


Answer from webmaster and poet, Katherine T Owen


"We are the answer to our own prayers".

I think the statement has truth in it but is also potentially misleading.

For me, and in agreement with A Course In Miracles, there is only one problem - the belief that we are separate from God.

To use Bible language, the mistake is our belief that a loving God would really give us the choice to eat from a tree of good and evil that would banish us from Heaven. This could only happen in our imaginations.

If there is only one problem, therefore there is only one solution, one answer to prayer - the knowledge that we have never left God's love. In the moment of knowing God's love, any problem melts away.

Prayer can take us into that knowingness, and in that moment we experience peace. We come back and bring that peace a little more into our world.

Yes, sometimes the world changes physically, but it is the inner remembering and transformation that is the true answer - the external change is just an echo.

We are the answer to our own prayer only in the sense that this remembering takes a willingness to let God in. Only we can exercise that willingness and make the decision in each and every moment to let God decide for us.

As we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, so our experience of the “problem” we experienced is resolved and we return to peace

A great quote from A Course In Miracles to help us give up our sense of loss is:
“Everything God gives is mine forever.”
(I may be paraphrasing!)
We can say this whenever we experience lack or the fear of losing.

Or a bible quote would be:
“...be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?””
(Hebrews 13:5-6, Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV)

So yes, I agree that we have enormous influence over our external world and that we are asked as the Bible says to take dominion.

But above all, I would say:

“...seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness,
and all else will be added unto you.”
(Matthew 6, KJV)

Great question, Shaun. It is something I continue to pray for guidance about.

With the Love we are,
Katherine

Catholic Blog Parables

by MARIA GARCIA
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Dear Katherine,
This is a beautiful and well planned website. I like your prayers specially the prayer for leaders which I dedicated to my friend at Catholic Womens League.

I invite you to visit my website and blog –
Mary’s Pharmacy

Regards,

MARIA MP GARCIA
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003969702266


Note from a-spiritual-journey-of-healing.com

Dear Maria,
I visited your Catholic blog and very much enjoyed reading the parable of the unforgiving servant for the 16 August.

The parables are rich food for our spirit, always surprising, often seemingly contradictory, encouraging our minds to open to God and say: “OK, God, tell me....What does this mean for my life today?”

It is lovely to read the daily gospels and readings and the interpretations you share.

God Bless your day with an abundance of Joy,
Katherine

Move from Catholic Blog to the Prayer for Leaders mentioned by Maria above.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYING FERVENTLY

by Floriana Hall
(Akron, Ohio, USA)

Our mother taught us prayers when my two brothers and I were children. After I had an angel experience at seven years old, I started praying the rosary. If I pray fervently for a special favor from God for myself or others, the prayer is always answered in God's own way and so many times is exactly what I prayed for. Praying fervently means praying over and over for the same favor from God whether one is vaccuuming, resting, meditating or driving in the car. To this day, I say a rosary while I am driving. It seems to help me concentrate on my driving while praying. At 83 years old, I feel lucky to be able to see better again since I have new driving glasses. Macular degeneration is closing in on me but I am praying fervently that it does not accelerate. Perhaps there will be a cure for it in time. There is always hope and there is always prayer.

Floriana Hall

John Wesley's Rule for Christian Living

by Shaun Butler
(Swindon, Wiltshire, UK)

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can.
As long as ever.....
You can.

Prayer help me believe

by Jennifer
(Yucaipa, CA. US)

Please God help me believe.
There are so many things I see that point to you,
but I seem to be blinded for quite some time now and I'm scared.
I need you now.
Thank you.
Amen

Note from a-spiritual-journey-of-healing.com

Dear Jennifer, thank you for your prayer-help me believe.
I feel the heartfelt power of its simplicity.

I know this prayer is creating a space in your mind and your life in which God will lead you to develop the spiritual discernment that allows belief to thrive.

I join my mind with yours for this outcome.

I do advise some kind of spiritual practice. We need spiritual discipline to create a space for belief amongst the chattering mind so attentive to this physical world.

You will find much about spiritual practice on the website
For example
forgiveness
blessing
prayer
praise
silence

Confessing spiritual quotes over your life can be a powerful way to correct your thoughts when they get lost in this world.

Move from Prayer Help Me Believe to Do you need to Believe in God to pray?

Please respect the author's copyright. I am delighted if you choose to share on social media, but please do NOT reproduce any of the contents of this page without permission.
© Katherine T Owen