By Joan Doyle
I feel very fortunate to have a prayer partner in life. Long ago I had a friend who was a recovering alcoholic and she had a mentor through Alcoholics Anonymous. I envied that she had this type of support. When life got stressful, day or night she could call this person who was experienced with her type of struggle, and she could rely on his calming words of wisdom. I suppose parents could fill that role but I never wanted to worry mine, especially my Dad, who was a worrier. Friends could fill that role, I suppose, but for me after my training as a counselor, I needed someone who saw situations from the soul perspective so I could find what I needed to learn. Friends were great when I wanted to get into the drama of the situation and have them get angry on my account, labeling the other person bad for upsetting me. Sometimes that feels very gratifying but I don’t learn much from, “I’m right; they’re wrong.” Is this not the attitude that has been the cause of wars and endless strife down the ages? On the path I have chosen there has to be a better way, so when I want to find that way it is my prayer partner I call.
As part of training in Spiritual Counseling we were partnered up with someone to practice our craft of affirmative and healing prayer. When we pray we affirm what is our Truth–that there is only one source of all life, that its energy is for good and that we are inseparable from it; it is who we are. Not unlike the Star Wars’ salutation, “May the force be with you!” We say the Force is always with us. No matter what the outer circumstances look like, they have no solidity; they shift and change. We affirm the changeless. It is our rock. We don’t magnify the undesirable circumstance by focusing on it. This way we are making room for the good to come into being. We affirm what it is we wish to experience, keeping in mind the good of all people while knowing all is possible in Spirit. We give thanks for it. Then we release the prayer and wait in trusting expectancy.
As one of our teachers in the Science of Mind says–“How do you expect to see heaven if you keep saying it’s not here?” For example; a relationship ends and we moan and despair of ever finding love, while in truth, love and hope spring eternal. It looks like we are out of money but the universe is absolute abundance, we just need to see it all around us and start the flow by giving. We can always find something to give; our time, our kind words. We give from the infinite source that we are; knowing there is more where that came from.
Just as the body sometimes needs treating so does the mind, our prayers are called mind treatments. We treat, align our thinking with the highest truth, then we move our feet, meaning, we take actions trusting in a good outcome. It’s simple and profound. When the prayer is answered, we call that a demonstration. This is the part I love about my “mix and match” religion, as some people call it–we expect and acknowledge results. It’s a very practical philosophy.
My prayer partner and I talk on the phone twice a week. We talk and conclude with prayer, every time. It’s as if we wrap up our trials and frustrations in a love blanket of powerful words and recognitions of boundless possibilities and let them go. We see for each other what the other can’t see. I always feel better after exposing my human thinking to a loftier consciousness! I really do feel fortunate to have a prayer partner in life.
Last week we both had astounding demonstrations which we could not ignore. Very often it’s easy to take it for granted when good things happen. Most people would say, “Well that would have happened even if you hadn’t prayed.” It comes down to what you choose to believe and if it works for you. Prayer works for me. No matter what is happening, I always have affirmations of my truth, like a prayer in my pocket–God is the Love that I am, Nothing opposes a Divine idea, Spirit is the source of my supply, All is unfolding for the greater good. It feels much better to fill my mind with powerful thoughts than to fret, to worry or to get angry. If that’s what you are choosing to do, I have to ask–how is that working for you?