It’s a human instinct, to call on a Power beyond the processes of nature, for assistance in bringing about something one is in need of. This impulse comes from our awareness of a nonphysical Intelligence, energizing all earthly events, that maintains a resonance with human words and deeds.
The specific way in which we go about offering a prayer of this kind determines how effective it is. Unfortunately, the form most of us have learned to use for a prayer of supplication is of no use, because it is wrong on two counts.
First, there is a beautiful and rich relationship between the Divine Energy that enfolds a person and the Divine Energy within that person. It is sad that the typical prayer of request imposes on that relationship the dynamic of a child in need addressing a beneficent parent. That misconception distorts the very real relationship between the individual and the Universe, and interferes with its functioning.
Second, the typical form of prayer emphasizes deficiency. Its core statement is, “Please bring to me that which I lack and need.” But when one’s cognitive and emotional focus is on a void of that kind, the primordial Intelligence is drawn to focus there, too. If your awareness is on your being without, the Universe can only confirm your reality.
Therefore, the usual form of prayer wastes an opportunity. Worse, it risks corroding your capacity for hope. Fortunately, a vastly different approach is available. You can visualize yourself having the result that you desire. You can see the void as already filled. You can let yourself feel the joy of having a once desperate need becoming a thing of the past. You can speak of what in actuality is yet to come by using the present tense, letting yourself feel gratitude just as you would for a gift that you’ve already received. In realistic terms this seems highly illogical. However, it is in full accord with the functioning of Spirit, which is timeless. That is, you are shaping what is ordinarily thought of as the future, by shaping your present state with your chosen belief.
If you open yourself to this form of prayer, you are taking a leap emotionally and cognitively, allowing yourself to manifest faith that you are being heard and that you will be responded to. As one who has done this over and over, and who has seen my heartfelt desires develop from images into living realities, I can attest to the power that lies with this form of prayer.