Chapter 9
PRAYER
Charles Fillmore
Dynamics For Living
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 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.
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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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. 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 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 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 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 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
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.
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 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.
