“More things are wrought by prayer than this world dream of”
That is the verdict of men & women believing. Prayer is the secret of every life that has exercised a profound and spiritual influence. We know that in it there is available to each of us a power of tremendous magnitude.
Why then, we are so lazy to use that. Too often we pray only in a crisis like when trouble comes, when disease strikes, when the safety of our country is threatened. Prayer is resorted to principally as a means of obtaining things from God when other means fail. No wonder people who pray in this fashion find it unsatisfying.
Also many people in their prayers have taken over a form of words from their childhood and are using it as adults with little thought for its meaning and sometimes without real faith in its power. The difficulties which keep us from using prayer may sometimes be theological if God knows that people need before we ask him, why tell him? If being all loving and all wise, He is ready to do what is best for human being, why pray at all?
To find an answer, let’s look especially at one form of prayer. Let’s see what happens when we pray for others.
First of all, have you ever thought of the effect of such prayer on yourself? It is impossible to harbor ill will and animosity against anyone if you keep praying for him/her. Whether your prayers have any immediate effect on him or not, this much is certain; you will be the better for them. In this sense what someone has written is true. Who rises from prayer a better man his prayer is answered.
Prayer is the best arbitrator of all differences, the best promoter of true friendships, the best cure for envy and jealousy. Are there people who dislike you, or have injured you, whom you dislike or shun, just pray for them and you will be more patient and charitable, you will find that you have become a happy person, living in a world that is friendlier then you were accustomed to find it.
Prayers for the others not only transform the disposition it energizes the will. It helps our imagination to picture the situation of other human beings; it troubles the conscience and kindles affection in the heart, finally it moves the will to action. True prayer is dynamic. Use it and you will discover that you can’t stop short at praying. If your prayer has any passion in it, any sincerity, it will constrain you to action.
If a man prays for his friends, for those dear to him, he is certain to be concerned about them and active in his concern. If habitually and fervently, he prays for his country, he will be a conscientious and loyal citizen making a worth-while contribution to the life of his time.
When we pray for others, we are not inducing God to interest Himself in those for whom we pray. We are giving proof to God of our interest in them are submitting the interest to Him for purification and are thus making ourselves sensitive to His guidance and receptive of His power. More than that, besides opening the sluice gates for the divine grace to pour into our mind. We are changing the environment of our fellows with a spirituality that makes it easier for them as for us to know and do the will of God.
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