Asking Amiss
There is a Catch-22 in asking for anything we want to receive through prayer. On one hand, we need clarity as to what it is we enjoy experiencing, but on the other hand, asking a God outside ourselves to give us anything is declaring God’s insufficiency. Dilemma? Not really.
Joel Goldsmith, in his book, The Infinite Way, writes:
True prayer is never addressed to a Being outside ourselves, nor does true prayer expect anything from outside our own being. “The kingdom of God is within you,” and all good must be sought there. Recognizing God to be the reality of our being, we know that all good is inherent in the Being, your being and mine. God is the substance of our being; and, therefore, we are eternal and harmonious.
In other words, we need look no further than ourselves. Everything–all potential–is there. It comes with the package of All. There can never be lack because the words eternal and infinite leave nothing out. If God is both eternal and infinite, there is no place nor time where All does not exist. That includes within our own being.
Goldsmith goes on to say:
Rightly speaking, there is not God and you, but God is ever manifest as you, and this is the oneness which assures you of infinite good.
Radical idea? At first glance, many people think this is blasphemy; but it isn’t. Ask those people where God is. They will tell you “everywhere.” Then clarify by saying, “Except in the space you are in, right?” They will quickly be lost to defend this idea, because everywhere does not exclude any space. Indeed, they, too, are within the Allness of God. Everything is!
Those who declare God to be a “Being” outside themselves are the ones feeling separate from All That Is. Those who understand our shared Being know if God is All, we already have everything we need. It is pointless to ask God to give us more than all. There can never be a moment when we are without because we are intrinsically woven within.
Goldsmith adds:
Prayer, when based on the belief that there is a need unfilled or a desire unsatisfied, is never in accord with true scientific prayer. A prayer for God to do something, send something, provide, or heal is equally without power.
A cup overflowing cannot add anything to it. Such prayers to add anything else to our lives are asking God to do what has already been done. We can never really ask God to give us what we don’t already have. It is not God who is lacking…it is the limited awareness we, as humans, are holding. We are the ones who have work to do to align us with the abundance of All That Is. Once we correct the delusional thinking that gives the appearance of lack, our prayers are answered. All along, it was God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. We experienced lack because we resisted the offer.
The next thing we have to consider is whether or not God needs us to explain how we want our desires to manifest. We tend to get involved in the “how” of getting whatever it is we want. We look outside ourselves for supply…to other people, circumstances, conditions, healers, teachers, etc. But supply is just as infinite and eternal as God is. All supply comes from within. Don’t fall victim to outside appearances that will attempt to tell you it cannot be as you wish. Of course it can. You are the only one who can prevent everything from coming into your own experience. That which we want can only come into expresssion through our own awareness of it. And because God is woven into one, Being, there is nothing for us to tell God that is not already known. Our mantra should always be, “This and something more!” To limit God’s grace would be such a shame. Let the answers come through God, as you, in ways you never could have imagined. It is so much more fun that way!
So, how exactly do we ask for anything from God. We don’t. We claim the things we want manifested as already ours. We hold the feeling it brings to us “as if it were already done.” We feel enormously appreciative of being in the midst of All. We leave no room for doubt as we fill our essence with deep love and awe. Our powerful feelings are what move the unseen into form. No words are needed…just the positive emotions of love and gratitude.
I conclude with a beautiful description of true prayer, written by Goldsmith:
The recognition of the divinity of our individual being, embracing and including the allness of God, is true prayer ever answered. The correction of the belief that we are ever separate or apart from our good is the essence of true prayer. That which I am seeking, I AM. Whatever it is of good that I have believed to be separate from me is, in fact, a constituted part of my being. I include, embody, and embrace within the self within my consciousness, the reality of God which forms the infinity of the health, wealth, and harmony of my being. The conscious awareness of this truth is true prayer.
I AM…Jodi
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