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Copyright © 1997 by Alan Cohen
All rights reserved. Inquiries should be addressed to
Hay House, P.O. Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018
Earthlight Magazine / Books
/ Home
Copyright © 1997 by Alan Cohen
All rights reserved. Inquiries should be addressed to
Hay House, P.O. Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018
It is important to know how and when to pray, but it is
equally important to know how and when to stop praying. It is
not true that the more your pray, the greater your chances of
your prayers being answered. As in all arts, sciences, and disciplines,
prayer has a point of diminishing return; success is not always
a matter of working harder-it is about working smarter. You cannot
truly claim to have mastered the art of prayer until you have
mastered the art of releasing prayer.
You must release your prayers so Spirit can answer them.
It may even be said that the whole purpose of prayer is to get
to the point at which you turn your intentions over to the universe.
Let us review how prayer works. The part of the mind that
prays is the part that is in fear, and has forgotten who you are
and momentarily overlooked the presence of The Creator. If you
had perfect faith and a perfect awareness of the Presence, you
would never need to pray; you would (and will) live in a constant
condition of love, joy, and appreciation. Prayer forms a bridge
between the separated mind and the whole mind. When you have traversed
the gap that doesn't exist, you can relax into serenity and release
your concern to the hands of Love. The one who prays has already
set him or herself apart from the One Who Answers. It is this
One to Whom the prayer must be entrusted, for if you knew how
to answer your own prayers, you would not be praying in the first
place.
The process may be likened to mailing a letter to a friend
across the country. After you have written what you want to communicate,
you drop the letter in a mailbox and trust that it will be delivered.
You would not stand behind a lamppost and watch to be sure that
the mailman picks it up.
You would not follow the carrier to the post office and
hover over the shoulders of the mail sorters. You would not squat
in the back of the mail truck, stowaway on the airplane next to
the mailbag, and follow the letter through the same processes
on the delivery route, making sure the letter gets put into the
right mailbox. While this scenario sounds ridiculous, it is not
unlike the notion of holding onto our prayers after we have dispatched
them.
If you are the kind of person who feels that you have to
control everything and make sure every detail is handled in the
way and time you expect, releasing your intention could be the
most important element in your prayer process. Simply letting
go of your prayer will assist you to let go of the control struggle
that led you to pray in the first place.
Holding onto prayer beyond its due time is an affirmation
of lack of faith, and will bear negative results. After you have
gotten clear on what you want, asked Spirit for help, and affirmed
your deservingness to have it, any further energy invested will
only backfire on you. When you overpray, you are saying, in effect,
"I don't believe that Spirit has heard my request or that
He will answer it. So I had better keep badgering until I get
what I want." Yes, persistence is good- but faith is stronger.
Prayers are effective for their quality, not volume. Every sentence
you overpray will reverse the effects of prayer, for your continuation
attests that you do not believe you will be helped. When you get
the sense that your petition has been heard and you feel it will
be answered, give thanks, and stop. You have done your part; now
let God do Hers.
Praying or doing an act of faith is like planting a seed.
You place the seed gently into the ground, nourish it, water it,
cover it with soil, and then you let it be. If you dig it up every
day to see if it is growing, you will damage it and undermine
the results you seek to achieve. In any form of embryonic growth,
there is a gestation time in which you do not see obvious results.
If your faith is small, you will wonder and worry if your seed
is growing. But most growth processes occur on an invisible level.
A human mother sees no growth in her womb during the first few
months of pregnancy, while many miraculous changes are occurring!
Trust that an invisible hand, guided by wisdom, is tending to
your seedling even when you cannot see it.
Remember the admonition to "Let go and let God."
This wisdom applies not only to daily activities, but to the core
of our relationship with Spirit.
Your seed is in good hands. Let it grow.
Alan Cohen is the author of the bestselling The Dragon
Doesn't Live Here Anymore. To order Alan's new book I Had
It All The Time, or to request a free catalog of Alan's books,
tapes, and workshop schedule, write to Hay House, P.O. Box 5100,
Carlsbad, CA 92018, or call 1-800-462-3013.
For information about Alan's Mastery Training held in Hawaii and
focusing deeply with twenty-four participants, write to 430 Kukuna
Road, Haiku, Hawaii 96708 or phone 1-808-572-0001.
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