Good Morning … Today we will continue our Study of the 3 Secrets To Answered Pray … First a quick review of Secrets 1 and 2 …
Secret #1: Prayer is answered through you … Again Prayer is answered through you …
Secret #2: Prayer is answered when you listen … Again, Prayer is answered when you listen …
And then for today, Secret #3: Prayer is answered when you welcome everything … Let me repeat that - Prayer is answered when you accept everything …
This may be the hardest part of this whole Prayer answer thing … It means that we have to begin accepting everything the happens after we Pray, as part of our answer … How can that be ??? How can we actually do that ??? Well I know it is not easy, not at all … It requires that first we have a firmly rooted Belief that once we Pray, our Prayer is heard and God and the Universe begin to shift and shape things to bring that request into reality … Well I have tried many times to just keep the Center covered when needed and let me assure you it would never happen where it not for Sunnie … She really excels at that sort of thing, and when it comes to answered Prayer, God and the Universe excel … No matter how difficult it may seem from where we are standing, They can bring it about … And there is an even better part, in bringing it about, They evaluate it and insure it is for our Highest and Greatest Good … God and the Universe always answer, and they always answer with the Divinely Perfect response … A Response tailored to our need that not only meets our requirements, but those of the whole Universe … It is like a built in failsafe … But it only works when we follow the plan ... We must learn to Trust and Accept …
You know they say that if there was a true “Fall of Man” from God's Grace it was based in “Ego” … At some point the Created began to think, or believe it was as smart as, or even smarter than the Creator ... In some ways of looking at it, it is really one of our greatest assets … But it can be and often is our greatest weakness too …
I mean how many of us would walk into say Kroger, and then just push a basket around, believing that what we needed that week would just fall into the cart ??? Or go the HR Office and say “I know you'll place me where I will be happiest and do the most good” … How many of us would go to college and let the Counselor choose our major ??? Really now, all of these things sound ridiculous don't they ??? Well, yes they do - and those are just some outlandish examples I came up with, in reality we make 100's of decisions that are on the same level … So how can I stand up here and say now that if we want our Prayers answered we have to just stop thinking and be open to, well - whatever ??? Because at least for me, I know that the “old” way doesn't work … Because for me I am learning that many of the things I thought I had nailed down where just walls built around things I didn't want to have to look at … I am actually entertaining the thought that maybe, just maybe I really don't know everything … And that maybe, just maybe I have been the biggest stumbling block to answered Prayer in my life …
I am not saying we must stop loving ourselves, or stop being proud of our accomplishments, of what we have learned - no, I am not saying we must kill our ego … Rather I am suggesting that, at least for me, I can learn so much more, I can grow my Faith so much more, by realizing that in most circumstances I do not always know best … Remember the Secrets up to now - I am part of the answer to my own Prayer and I must listen rather than talk if I am to hear His answer … For me I am seeing that God speaks to me in almost each and every circumstance through those He has placed in my life … Sunnie, my kids, my friends … Each of them can add a new dimension, a new perspective to any issue or problem … In the past I had selfishly cherished the solitude of my decisions, the perceived security that came from “knowing” I was right … However now as I look at things with these “new” eyes I am seeing it was shameful how hard God had to work to get my attention … I was so wrapped up in my belief that I knew what He wanted and needed me to do, that I never gave a second thought to the idea that maybe there was more than one way to slice that tomato …
I am not suggesting that we kill our ego's, or become some kind of spiritual Stepford Wife … That is not why we are here and surely is not what He wants us of us either … However, I really believe that we can let our ego's get the best of us over time … We can fall into a rut of comfort and safety - never really pushing the envelope, or stretching our Spiritual muscles … Always staying within our own personal comfort zone … But as any of us who have raised kids know, it doesn't work like that if someone is to grow … You have to push ahead - you have to break some eggs to make mayonnaise …
That is precisely the Beauty of Prayer Secret number 3 - it is telling us, no I should say “asking” us to put aside our ego's for a minute … To open our minds - our hearts to the leading of God … Yes we tend to want the right things, the best for our families and ourselves but let's face it, we do have limited sight when it comes to most things … There are truly times when we don't see the big picture - and more importantly, don't “know” all the facts … Times when we don't see that the answer to our Prayer is exactly what will open the eyes of another … Sure I know, I catch myself saying “hey, can't I just deal with my stuff and let them work theirs out on their nickel ???” Sometimes I must admit that sounds so much better, but if we stop for a second, what is that in the way of ego control ??? That is letting ego run wild … Me first period … I got mine, get your own …
Why is it so important to learn to subjugate the ego ??? Really, I mean it is our best friend, right ??? Who has seen the movie trilogy “Lord of the Rings” ??? Or read it ??? Well then you know all about Gollum, or better put, Ego Incarnate … That is why we all saw little bits of ourselves in him … He is our worst nightmare, and the last thing we want to become … A totally self absorbed use of Energy …
So let's come back to Secret #3 … If you'll take a moment you will see how the aspect of answered Prayer keeps our ego's in check … We are not to prejudge, to think ahead, to presume to know what God and the Universe should do in any given circumstance … Rather we as children of God, must learn to make our request, and then like a child who knows it's parents love them, simply wait with eager anticipation for the things to show up … It is asking us to be child like almost I think … To play a game that says “somewhere in this person I have hidden a key to your Prayer being answered, can you find it ???” Of course it may not be a person, it could just as easily be a job, a move - whatever … But the “key” to the key is, we must accept everything that comes as part and parcel of the answer … Our ego may be telling us it knows how this should be done, step by step, but we must keep the slate clean - open to whatever, or whoever God and the Universe places in our paths … We must never fall into the trap of saying “oh come on, that is just weird coincidence” … Or the belief “the there is no answer to our Prayers” …
You know, I don't think it is too big a stretch to say that if you were to look at these three “Secrets to Answered Prayer” you could make the argument that they are really the same as the two Great Commandments our Lord gave … To love God with all our heart and soul and to treat everyone as we would be treated … If we followed the 3 Secrets, I am convinced that is exactly what we would be doing … I can honestly say it takes way more Faith than I would have originally thought to just “accept” things as they come … To accept, really accept and believe that everything that happens to us, is happening “for” us … Once we can actually know and believe that, we actually are opening the doors for God, for the Universe to flow into our lives and through them … In “Guest House” Rumi says “Be thankful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond” … No we may not see the Wisdom right off, catch the insight or see the long term solution, but those who see it all have sent the exact right person or thing to us at the exact right moment - the only reason things seem blocked so many times, is because WE are in the way - either literally or Spiritually … Our egos won't allow any Wisdom from the outside to penetrate, we won't value or treasure another's insight or advice … For whatever reason, we are going against the current of Secret #3 … And so it then appears that our Prayers are going unanswered …
As we go into our Meditation this morning, let's think about how many times we block the answers God sends us … How hard God has to work sometimes to get our attention … Let's accept that it is we, you and me that determine how full the glass is - many times before it has even arrived … Think about how when we Pray for “more”, we ourselves have to grow in order to receive the answer … And most times, like all things in life, that Growth means we must let go of the things that are keeping us small and immature …
Namaste'
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