Deep Prayer
August 13, 2008 |
 Photo by Ron Layters |
A friend of mine sent me one of those emails that make the rounds – “bless the person reading this message and pass it along” “If you believe”…
This reminded me of an important point, often lost on those that pray. I’ve heard that some churches reserve this as secret for the monks and nuns.
There are 2 types of prayer – a prayer of asking and a prayer of allowing. The second is far more powerful.
The first type is known as Petitionary prayer. We are asking God for something. It is focusing on a consequence rather than source or God. We are speaking of a lack where there is none. Thus it is more like an affirmation than a spiritual practice.
As Rev. Michael Beckwith observed, if you keep asking, you don’t believe.
This is true everywhere. In India, people are often asking the gods for favours. A favorite is Ganesh, the elephant-headed man. He is said to be the remover of obstacles. Yet, where are the obstacles? They are in you alone. We see them outside because the world is as you are.
 |
| Photo by Rickydavid |
Often here I have spoken about allowing. How there is only Fullness and resistance to Fullness. Allowing is the art of moving past resistance.
There are many names for allowing. We may also say surrender, acceptance or trust. Being OK with what is. For a long time, I saw ‘surrender’ as a word implying blind faith. Then one day, I heard the word without the baggage and in that simple moment of correct seeing, I allowed. That changed everything. It only takes a moment. Trust is another word we often struggle with. This is why I often use Allow.
And that is the key to a much more powerful form of prayer. The prayer of receiving.
This is called Intercessionary. It is the prayer of faith. The prayer that Thy will be done. A prayer of trust and acceptance. It is the doorway to Fullness, to the wholeness we may call God.
“To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness. This state is not dependent upon things being a certain way, good, or bad. Watch any animal and let it teach you acceptance of what is. Observe its surrender to the Now. Let it teach you Being.”
– Eckhart Tolle
When we can fully allow, we come to see all expression as on offering of Self to Itself. All flows within Itself as a prayer to Itself. Our life becomes a continuous prayer.
Davidya
A short time after I wrote this, a friend remarked in an email about the ‘ecology’ or environment. He referred to a teacher saying that religion was about binding back to source. Reconnecting back. But all too often, we get caught up in the ecology, in whats around us. Angels and such are ecology, not source. One must find source first, then we find source in everything.
[...] on Deep Prayer I spoke about the difference between asking and allowing. The same is true of affirmations. If you [...]
[...] example we might use is prayer. An effective prayer is not just in the action, in the ritual of it. It is in the surrender to God. It is not in asking, [...]
[...] God while meditation is listening. This assumes prayer is Petitionary, a request from God. Back on Deep Prayer, I spoke of the deeper style called Intercessionary. This is the prayer of faith, of allowing or [...]
[...] few years ago, I wrote on 2 types of prayer. That of asking for and that of allowing. Allowing is the deep prayer, the prayer of faith, the [...]
[...] think of prayer as a form of surrender rather than asking for something. Thy will be done. This is very powerful if you are up for [...]
[...] this blog, I’ve written articles about intention and about prayer. In intention, we’re directing our attention in a specific direction, often for a specific [...]