In these modem times you hear much about the power of prayer. Prayer is often described as the mightiest force in the universe. You frequently hear such phrases as “prayer changes things” or “the family who prays together stays together.” Mail that comes to you may be stamped “pray for peace” or “spiritual action is constructive–U.N. needs your prayers.” Everywhere the power of prayer is being written about, talked about, and used as never before. Someone succinctly described the power of prayer in this manner: “Prayer is profoundly simple and simply profound!”
Recently the vice-president of a large real estate firm talked with me at length about the power of prayer. He declared, “This is a more spiritual world than many folks realize. People often wear a mask, hesitating to speak of their belief in prayer or of their own answered prayers.” He then related how, during a recent period of ill health, his supposedly “hard-boiled business friends” quietly visited him in the hospital and later at home, to talk with him about the power of prayer for restoring his health. Even after he returned to work, several business friends spent their entire lunch periods with him, relating numerous answered prayers in their own life experiences.
Prayer Is Natural to Man
Prayer has been described as man’s steady effort to know God. Quite contrary to what most people think, prayer is natural to man, rather than a strange, mysterious practice. Men have always prayed and always will. In his primitive understanding, primitive man prayed to the sun and stars, to the fire and water, to animals and plants, to images and myths, but primitive man certainly prayed.
Later, as the intellect of man evolved, his ideas advanced as he conceived of God as a personal deity who had human sentiments and emotions, just as did primitive man. All men in all ages have prayed in one way or another. At long last, mankind is coming out of a primitive and purely intellectual approach to God into true spiritual understanding. Our methods of prayer are now changing, expanding, and improving. Mankind is finally realizing that God is not a hostile Being with a split personality of good and evil, but that God is a God of love, the unchanging principle of supreme good which pervades the ordered universe. It is easy to pray to and commune with this kind of God!
Pray for Results
Even though various prosperity laws are discussed in this book, the power of prayer cannot be over-emphasized for permanent, satisfying prosperity. The person who prays daily is certain to succeed, because he is attuning himself to the richest, most successful force in the universe.
The Bible promises make it plain that there’s nothing wrong with praying for things. Many people have not employed the power of prayer because they have the erroneous idea that it is wrong to pray for things.
The story is told of a woman who prayed definitely for a husband, and she got him in six weeks. She then prayed six years to get rid of him! What that woman did not realize was that, when you pray for things, you should stipulate the “divine selection,” which is always the right, sublime answer to your specific need. It is right and just that you should pray for things if you need them, because you are living in a rich universe that desires to fulfill all your needs. Among Biblical figures who prayed for definite things were Abraham, Daniel, David, Elijah, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, Hannah, Jehoshaphat, Jeremiah, Jonah, Joshua, Moses, Nehemiah, Samson, and Solomon.
Tennyson poetically expressed the power of praying for things in his line: “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams.”
Emmet Fox once described the power of praying for things: Prayer does change things. Prayer does make things to happen quite otherwise than they would have happened had the prayer not been made. It makes no difference at all what sort of difficulty you may be in. It does not matter what the causes may have been that led up to it. Enough prayer will get you out of your difficulty, if only you will be persistent enough in your appeal to God. The Sermon on the Mount (New York: Harper & Brothers), p. 11
Perhaps you have heard the well-worn phrase, “Pray about it and everything will be all right.” But let me share with you four basic ways of praying so that everything will be all right:
1. General Prayer
First, there is general prayer. General prayer is praying to God as a loving, understanding Father in your own private way. It can be on your knees, or in any comfortable position. It can be expressed in spoken words or in silent communion. It can be with a prayer book before you, or it can be by browsing through your Bible, dwelling upon favorite passages, or paraphrasing them to meet your need.
Special Methods of General Prayer
A good way to begin using a general prayer is to take the Lord’s Prayer and to consider each line of it silently and verbally. The ancients believed that the Lord’s Prayer was all-powerful; they often declared it over and over from twelve to fifteen times without stopping. At the healing shrine at Lourdes, those seeking healing were taught to pray the Lord’s Prayer fifteen times, while they entered the waters. The number fifteen was believed to have the power to dissolve affliction and adversity.
From my own experience I know that deep spiritual power is contacted and brought alive when one repeats the Lord’s Prayer over and over, either silently or verbally.
Sometimes one form of general prayer will aid you, and at other times some other form will meet your need. In this age when we’re hearing a great deal about affirmative prayer, which is often described as “scientific prayer,” as well as about meditation and silent prayer, it is good to remember that good, old-fashioned earnest prayer, used in a general way, has not gone out of style and still contains great spiritual power.
Prayer Heals
I once heard a businessman relate how general prayer met a need in his family. His little son had been ill for several weeks with a serious cough. Medical attention had been of no avail and the cough persisted. One night in desperation this man took his pajama-clad son into the den of his home and sank into the nearest chair. He then offered a short, simple general prayer of thanks that his son was healed of the cough and infection. In any event, the child coughed only twice after that, and completely recovered! That is the power of general prayer.
Prayer Dissolves Bitterness
A housewife recently wrote me of some of her experiences with general prayer. She and her husband desperately wished to have a child. For three years they prayed daily that God’s will be done concerning it. Their prayer was then answered, and they now have a lovely little girl.
In another instance, a housewife had long been estranged from her father who had divorced her mother when she was small. One day, after years of not having heard from him, a letter arrived saying he would like to come for a visit. At first, the old bitterness from the past welled up within this woman as she thought of seeing her father again. Then she knelt beside her bed and prayed that God’s good will be done in the matter. She got a feeling of peace and calm, and was led to write him to come. When he arrived, she was amazed at how congenial he seemed with her, her husband and child. She declared, “He was the best house guest I’ve ever had.” They laughed, shared many things, and were quite happy during his ten-day visit. Six months later, she received word that he had passed away in a distant city, and she was so grateful she had prayed for guidance, and had enjoyed the last happy visit with him.
Praying for Marriage
The assistant secretary-treasurer of a savings bank once remarked that it was time she was getting married. She was an attractive person who had many friends and enjoyed a wide range of activities, hut she just never had met the “right man.” The janitor heard her remark, and informed her that it was quite possible for her to meet the right person and to marry happily. He advised her to pray about the matter. She informed him that she had already prayed many times, hut to no avail. Doubtfully, she agreed to pray again if he would also pray with her daily, which he did. One morning a few months later, she was wearing a lovely diamond as she rushed into the bank and announced to her fellow workers that she would be getting married very soon. She had met her future husband while playing golf at the country club, and it had been “love at first sight.” Ever since, she has insisted that her happy marriage is the result of prayer.
Praying for Work
A musician was out of a job. The band with which he worked had been asked to go to Florida. Upon arrival there, the job promised them did not materialize, and they were stranded. This musician prayed a general prayer that God’s good will be done in the matter. One day he and the other members of the hand were at the union headquarters hoping something would turn up, when their agent telephoned from New York and said he had located a job for them in Texas. No one else in the group knew that this musician believed in and practiced the power of prayer. Nevertheless, he felt the prayers of the group had been answered as they proceeded to Texas for a long, successful engagement.
Praying for Protection
A housewife was in her farmhouse in a dense forest area. While her husband was away on a business trip, a great forest fire arose and raged all around her property. As the fire surrounded her, she could not leave to notify her husband, who was traveling between two points and could not be reached anyway. So she prayed, “Father, it’s up to You to save me and our house and property. There’s nothing I can do.” She then released the matter, went to bed for the night, and slept well. The next morning she awoke early to find only a few stumps still burning here and there. Upon investigation, she realized that the fire had burned right up to her property lines, and had stopped! It seemed a miracle. Later in the day when a forest ranger arrived, he said, “There’s only one explanation for this. You must have been praying.”
Prayer Is Dynamic
Now perhaps you are thinking just now as did once my son. A friend met him on the street and asked him about me. He replied that I was fine, with one exception: “There’s just one thing wrong with my mother.” Alarmed, the friend inquired what was wrong. The emphatic reply was, “She prays too much!’ The friend then asked, “Does anything happen when your mother prays?” to which he replied, “Oh yes, something always happens when my mother prays!’
If you feel that perhaps your prayer experience has not been satisfying or powerful, and that nothing much happened as a result of your prayers, perhaps it is because you would like to develop more specific types of prayer than general prayer.
2. Prayers of Denial
The second type of prayer is one little known or understood. It is the prayer of denial.
Many people cringe at the word “denial,” believing that its only meaning is “to take away or withhold.” But the word “deny” also means “to dissolve, to erase or be free from, to refuse to accept as true or right that which is reported to be true.” Prayers of denial are for the latter purpose to refuse to accept as necessary, true, lasting, or right anything which is not satisfying or good.
Prayers of denial are your “no” prayers. They help you to reject things as they are, and to dissolve your negative thoughts about them, and make way for something better. Prayers of denial help you to erase, to be free from less than the best in your life. Prayers of denial are expressed in those attitudes that think, “I will not put up with or tolerate this experience as necessary, lasting or right. I refuse to accept things as they are. I am God’s child and I will accept nothing but His complete goodness for me.”
Mankind greatly needs to use prayers of denial or “no” prayers. So many people lead a pygmy existence of fear, compromise, and dissatisfaction, when they might be enjoying a life of gigantic good, if they only knew how to say “no” to less than the best in their experiences.
It is good to follow up thoughts of what you don’t want with what you do want; after claiming “no, I will not accept this,” you should add, “yes, I will accept this or something better.” Long ago, the Egyptians followed the command to take away all iniquity through the power of denial. The Egyptians used the sign of the cross to indicate a crossing out or blotting out of evil, a form of denial which still is used by some churches.
Daniel in the lions’ den doubtless used prayers of denial to assure his safety. A famous picture shows Daniel not looking at the lions, but with his back to them, he is shown looking out of the window toward Jerusalem. When the King inquired why Daniel had not been torn to pieces by the lions, Daniel declared, My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions, and they have not hurt me (Daniel 6).
How to Dissolve Fear, Worry, Tension
Prayers of denial dissolve fear, worry, sorrow, sickness, tension, and other negative emotions. “No” prayers seem to neutralize the effects of negation. For instance, a man once talked with me about marrying a woman who had just been released from prison. They were very much in love; she had served a long sentence, and had been him if any of his friends knew of her prison record, and he replied they did not, but he feared they might find out. After praying with him, I had the feeling it was in divine order for him to marry this woman, who was certainly due a second chance in society, after having paid for her mistake. I suggested that he use Daniel’s prayer of denial. When any fear or worry tried to come upon him, he was to deny it by declaring: My God hath sent his angels and shut the mouths of the lions. They cannot hurt us. He used this prayer, and never had any unfavorable reaction to his marriage.
In speaking of these second and third types of prayer, denial and affirmation–I should point out that they are as much attitudes of mind as formal methods of prayer. You can use them silently or verbally wherever you are, either as formal prayers, or informally as attitudes of mind.
Any secretary knows the feeling when she is hurriedly called in for dictation, and informed that she must produce quick results. It can be confusing and upsetting unless one knows how to use “no” attitudes of mind. I recall once, while still a legal secretary, being informed that a long legal contract which had been dictated to me had to be transcribed immediately (if not sooner!) for one of the boss’s prominent clients. It seemed an impossible task, and so I began thinking over and over: There is no need to rush. Divine Order is now established and maintained in this situation. Within a few minutes, this client changed his mind about the urgency of this matter, and informed the boss he would return the next day to sign the papers. This allowed time to prepare them properly.
So many people get the erroneous idea that somebody else can keep their good from them, and so they unhappily go through life believing it. Prayers of denial can dissolve such falsity. When you catch yourself thinking in such a limited vein, change the thought and declare, Nothing can oppose my good. As you do, you will find that, where people and affairs seemed to work against you, everything will shift and begin working for you.
One of the greatest problems of mankind is how to overcome and dissolve fear. When you can overcome your fear of any problem, you have gained control of it; it no longer controls you; and you are well on the way to solving it. A powerful prayer to deny fear is: Perfect love casts out fear.
Say “No” to Unhappiness
A foreign war bride came to this country with her American husband. For a few years they seemed happy, but then the old memories of her war experiences began welling up in her mind. She became very unhappy, depressed, and confused. Finally, her husband had her confined to a mental hospital. Later, he divorced her and remarried.
In the midst of all this unhappiness, far from her homeland, among strangers, this woman learned of the “no” attitude of mind. She had only one friend outside of the hospital, to whom she began to write, “I am not going to remain in my present condition. I know I can be helped. I know I am going to get well.” Gradually, she began to improve. Soon she was released from the hospital and went to work in another hospital. When she did, she declared to her friend, “You see, I told you I had what it takes.” She was soon happily married to a doctor whom she met at her new job.
If people only knew how to say “no” to unhappy experiences, rather than to bow down to them! The Hebrews were warned repeatedly not to bow down and worship false idols or gods. The gods of unhappiness, lack and limitation are “heathen gods” which are still with us. They cause us as much havoc as did the Hebrews’ worship of false gods.
To declare, There is nothing for me to fear. God’s spirit of good is at work and Divine Results are coming forth is to dissolve fear, worry, tension, anxiety. To declare (as the scientists know), There is no absence of life, substance or intelligence anywhere, so there is no absence of life, substance or intelligence in this situation or in my life dissolves uncertainty, confusion and many times dissipates psychosomatic sickness or financial lack. Several years ago when the Asiatic flu seemed prevalent, I constantly declared, There is no absence of life, substance or intelligence anywhere. One day my son came home from school and said, ‘Mother, I was the only boy to appear for football practice today. Everybody else was home with Asiatic flu. What is it?”
Immunize Yourself Against Negation
The denial attitude of mind does not invite trouble by discussing it. The denial attitude of mind mentally says “no” to talk of others which emphasizes less than the best, or that gives attention to what you don’t want to experience. Instead of multiplying problems by discussing them loud and long; instead of fretting about world conditions or the problems of others, do whatever you constructively can to make them right. Use the “No, I will not accept this as lasting, permanent, or necessary” attitude toward all.
When people try to upset or bother you with a lot of negative talk, mentally say, “No, no, no, I do not wish to hear this. I do not accept this as true or necessary.” Soon they will either switch to more constructive topics, or leave!
In like manner, instead of thinking that you have to “put up with” dissatisfaction in your life as a permanent arrangement, use your “no” power by declaring often: No, I do not have to accept this situation. God in his almighty goodness is dissolving and removing all negation from my world. No situation dismays me, for God the Spirit of Good is with me, upholding and sustaining me and making all things right.
For financial affairs, here is a prayer of denial: Regardless of taxes, high cost of living or the high rate of unemployment, my financial income can and does increase richly now through the direct action of God.
When you dare to use your “no” power of mind on a loud, boisterous, unhappy situation, you then gain mental and emotional control of it, rather than letting it control you. You are then shown what outer, positive steps to take to meet it victoriously.
3. Prayers of Affirmation
The third type of prayer affirmations should be used with denials. When you use denials, you erase, dissolve, liquidate. You then wish to make firm new good, which is done through affirmative prayers.
A traveling salesman once told me how he did this. He had been heavily in debt and had attempted to get a loan from a bank to pay off his debts. Because he lacked adequate security, he had not been able to obtain a loan. In desperation, he decided to say “no” to his indebtedness and “yes” to prosperity. So he constantly affirmed: God prospers me now. Within a few days after he began declaring this, he made the largest sale he had ever made, after which he was able to pay off all his debts, with ample supply left over. Affirmative prayer is fully discussed in Chapter 6, “The Prosperity Law of Command”.
4. Prayers of Meditation and Silence
The fourth type of prayer is the prayer of meditation and silence. It is often in meditation and silent, contemplative prayer that you feel the presence of God’s goodness most strongly. In this type of prayer, you take a few meaningful words and think about them and feed upon them silently. As you think about them and contemplate them, they grow in your mind as expanded ideas that move you to right action, or perhaps as peaceful assurance that all is well and no action is needed. If nothing seems to happen in meditation, you have nevertheless made the mind receptive to God’s good and at the right time, ideas and opportunities will be revealed as a result of your spiritual exercise in meditation.
Perhaps you are thinking, “This is all pretty good spiritual theory, but how do I know that meditation and silent prayer will produce tangible, satisfying results in my work-a-day world?” Moses and other Biblical leaders proved the practical, result-getting power of silent meditation.
Perhaps you are thinking, “But I’m no Moses, and I frankly am not sure how to practice meditation and silent prayer.” The truth is, that you meditate whether you’ve been aware of it or not. Everyone does. The word “meditate” means “to think about, contemplate, to consider deeply and continuously.”
How to Meditate
Whatever you think about constantly is the subject of your meditation. In silent prayer it is good to meditate upon the divine solution of any problem. You can begin by just taking the term “divine solution” and letting the thought grow in your mind. You can take some spiritual word or phrase, think about it, and let it unfold to you, or you can simply clear your mind, close your eyes, turn your attention within your own being, and think of “God”, “love”, “God is love”, “peace”, or any such idea that gives you a feeling of oneness with good in a relaxed way.
I often go into silent meditation to get guidance or the feeling of renewal, uplift, encouragement and new energy. If I retire to my room for silent meditation around dinnertime, after a busy day, I find that, after about a half hour of silent meditation, I become renewed and ready for an evening of further work or other activity. Someone has said that “prayer feeds.” I can affirm that meditation feeds me emotionally with a sense of harmony, uplift and peace; that meditation feeds me intellectually with new ideas, or often flashes into my mind something I need to know about a current situation; and that meditation feeds me physically with a sense of body renewal, new energy, and well-being, dissolving fatigue and tension.
Meditation Solves Problems
It is through silent meditation that I often plan my days, my lectures, my writing. It is not necessary to be highly developed spiritually to use the power of silent meditation effectively. I used the power of meditation often while in the business world.
Some of the most thrilling results are realized when we take up a problem, sit alone and meditate as follows: The Divine Solution is the sublime solution. I accept and claim the Divine Solution in this situation now. Gently let your mind expand on that thought. The “fear energy” spent in worry and battling with the problem will then be transmuted into “faith energy,” giving you the right ideas and the right answer. Always, when you have a problem, if you will go into silent meditation and contemplate the solution from a divine standpoint, you will be shown what to do.
An engineering executive once told me that he uses this method: When his men run into difficulty on an engineering project, he privately takes the problem, goes into his study, silently meditates upon it from a divine standpoint, and inevitably receives the solution. One of his junior executives once asked him how he always managed to have right answers just when they were needed most. When he explained his simple method, the junior executive skeptically declared, “You mean you just meditate upon the solution, rather than fight the problem?” The business world is full of harried, tense people who became that way through trying to solve their problems in external ways, rather than through the “inner short-cut.”
Everyone should take time daily for quiet and meditation. In daily meditation lies your secret of power. You may be so busy with many activities and demands, that you feel you have no time to go apart. It is the only way in which you will ever gain definite knowledge, newness of experience, steadiness of purpose, or power to meet the unknown in daily living victoriously. As you begin to daily practice meditating, you will discover that some of your activities and demands are no longer necessary, and that it is best to let them go, rather than neglect your quiet time of meditation and aloneness with yourself and your creator.
When you withdraw from the world for meditation, it is best not to think of your failures. Instead, calm yourself and center your attention on God and his almighty goodness. If possible, let all the little annoying cares go for a while, and turn your thoughts to some of the simple words of the Psalmist. Hold in mind some thoughts that help you, be it ever so simple: “I and the Father are one”, “Thy will be done in me”, “I love you, God”, “Thank you, Father”, “I am in thy presence, Lord”, “This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”, “Peace, be still”. Until you have practiced the presence of God in the simple way, you can have no idea how it quiets all physical nervousness, all fear, all oversensitiveness, all the little raspings of everyday life. A time of calm, quiet waiting, alone with God, is one of restfulness and renewal. This is the “secret place of the most High” of which the Psalmist speaks.
Of the four types of prayer: general, denial, affirmative, or meditative, use whatever type seems appropriate to you at the moment, or perhaps blend the several types. But pray often! It can be the secret of peace, power and plenty.