Prayer
This is part four of a eleven part series. Also see;
The Power P's of Enduring Success - Patience
The Second Power P of Enduring Success - Persistence
The Third P of Enduring Success - Positivitity
Jesus explains the parable of the seeds as such;
Matthew 4:13 - 20
Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?
The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others.
The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
As you can see from this parable even when people are taught how to better their lives, so precious few can actually hold onto it long enough to make their lives fruitful.
The first bunch (on the footpath) lack Patience. They like what they are hearing but immediately go back to looking at their unsatisfactory life. They live in the moment with no vision of a better tomorrow.
The second bunch (on rocky soil) lack Persistence. They take in the message of hope. Get all excited, run with it but when things don't go their way, they lose it again.
The third bunch (in thorns) lack Positivity and Perspective. They absorb the lessons and utilize them effectively but then allow circumstances to discourage them or otherwise lose focus on what's really important.
Only the last bunch (on good soil) absorb the lessons of life and utilize them effectively, for the right reasons, consistantly despite adversity, until they bear fruit. What allows this group to succeed when all the others have faded? Certainly patience, persistence, positivity and a proper perspective (hmmm... another P, maybe I should make it 5 Ps?) are all critical to lasting when things are tough. But in order to really endure, when everything seems to be set against you, when everyone around you is telling you otherwise, when there is no physical evidence that you will ever accomplish your goals and dreams, you need to be able to draw on a strength greater than yourself.
PRAYER
Now it is not my intent to preach Christianity, nor do I believe it is the only way. I have seen many miracles happen to people of many difference religions and beliefs. Jesus works for me. It is my understanding of God/Source energy and I draw strength from it but if you do not believe in Jesus then believe in something. Find a religion or definition that works for you.
Prayer is important for a number of reasons.
It helps you to focus your energy. Try to relax, and always ask for what you do want. Be specific as possible. Visualize it. Thank God for it as if it is already yours. Because it is. God loves you. He has set a full table before you with every concievable dish. He wants you to be happy and satisfied. But unless you boldly go forward and claim it, it will remain there.
Given such an array of dishes most people just go forth and take what they are familiar with. It's easy and safe. They look at the other dishes and wonder what they are like but are afraid to try it, in case they don't like it. Maybe it'll be too hot. Or not to their taste. So they stick to what they know.
Many look at some of the richest, most luxurious dishes and desire to sample from them, but ask themselves who are they to be entitled to such as that? That's for people better than they. Like the poem The Wage, these people are asking life for a penny and a penny they shall have. God does not impose such value judgement against us. We impose them against ourselves. Those dishes are there for you to sample. Go boldly forth and do so.
Through prayer we put ourselves in alignment to recieve our desires.
Prayer provides answers to our questions. No, you're not going to hear some booming voice from the heavens (and if you do, let me know your secret) but if you are still, clear of emotional and mental garbage, you may gain clarity. This comes in many forms. A gut feeling. A knowing. A sense of 'rightness'. Your conscience. Timely advice. Meeting someone at a critical time who can help move you in the direction you need.
Most importantly prayer allows us to draw on a source of strength greater than ourselves. When we feel totally tapped out, we can hold onto our faith, and let go and let God.
By being able to hold onto our faith we can envision a way even when no way is evident. All things are possible for God. This keeps us in alignment with our goal, instead of despairing which moves us out of alignment.
Law of Attraction states that whatever we continually focus on we attract. Especially when we focus on it with intense emotion. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad. By holding onto our faith we continue to believe that we will achieve, continue to live in a state of optomistic joy and remain a vibrational match for that which we desire. Without faith, we despair, we get caught up in the here and now, and start to push against it. Pushing against it only serves to attract it. If that's what you've focused on, that's what you're attracting.
But isn't that sort of contradicting myself bouncing from Christianty to Law of Attraction, you ask? If God can do anything and he loves you and you're praying to him shouldn't he provide for you despite the fact that you may be looking at that which you don't want? No. Because if you're focusing on that which you don't want, if that's consuming your mind and energy you are not walking in faith. You are praying on one hand but then disbelieving on the other. If you are truly walking in faith then you can only be focused on that which the Lord is providing and not what the world is showing. You can only be in a state of bliss, because you know, deep down, that God has you covered. You stop looking at the here and now and relax, content that somehow, God will show you a way. And that is Law of Attraction in action.
Once we turn to prayer, once we let go and let God, we are relax and stop feeling like we need to fight the world. And in doing so, we allow our blessings to flow.
