June 14, 1990

• Assignment of guides

• Prayer benefits both giver and recipient

• Peace is of God

God is with you at all times. God’s strength is with you in your rejoicing and in your anguish. God is with you as you pray for others and as others pray for you. There is no time when you are separated from that presence. There are many times, however, when you may feel a separation—a sense of desperation, loneliness, helplessness, acute anxiety, frustration—and this is normal, but it does not change the reality of the light of God shining upon your lives and the loving presence of your chosen guides.

We use the term "chosen guides" intentionally, for in a sense you contribute to the decision of who shall be your guides. In order for this relationship to foster growth and depth, spiritual development and enrichment, there has to be a kind of bonding between your soul and that of your guide. Such bonding facilitates communication, facilitates your growth.

There are times when God chooses one of us to be a guide to a reluctant soul. This effort, while tedious in your eyes, is most rewarding to us, for we see the blossoming of a soul that has been withdrawn for awhile from God's light. It is like a flower which remains in bud for a long time, and then when the light and temperature and soil are right, it opens to reveal its beauty. So we see your souls as they open to reveal their beauty. The responsibilities which we have as your guides can therefore be so rewarding for we see strong evidence of growth.

Your loved one’s guide is with us. His guide is strong and wise and patient and persevering. You must have confidence that his soul will blossom and bathe in God's light. It is indeed a difficult period for the whole family, but you must be confident that the guides for each member are working together, are strengthened by that association, and through that strength God's light will be strongly focused. There is no way that we can see a time frame with any clarity, but we do see a soul struggling for a sense of identity, a sense of self-worth. His soul is a young soul in its manifestation in human life. This is meant as a clarification but not as a criticism. A soul needs to grow, but that growth is different for all souls, for all embark upon a path at different points according to their present development. Prayers for the opening of his soul and a desire to receive the warming, nurturing light of God are always helpful, not only to him but to those who pray for him. Your prayers for him strengthen you; it is not just he who benefits.

The gift of prayer is a gift to the giver as well as the recipient. By praying for another to receive strength, the one who prays is thereby strengthened, for both the individual for whom a prayer is offered and the individual who offers that prayer are for that moment spiritually one. It is for that reason that prayers are so beneficial, for there is no distance to be traversed. There is no difference between the two.

There is a unique spiritual unity, a bonding which is effected with prayer. The lights of both souls are combined and a new light is formed. The strength of one light becomes absorbed by the weaker and together something new, and for us, very beautiful is created.

Prayer is the great unifier of all humankind. When you pray for one on the other side of the world, you and the other are absolutely united. We see this so clearly from our perspective, but in human life you cannot fully appreciate what is being said. The rightness, the validity, the wisdom...you must take this on faith. To pray for another is to be united with another. Although there may be personal differences, you are then spiritually one for that moment.

You are all aware of imaging—the concept and its reported benefits. Such imaging is an effort on your part to cope with the reality that we see when imaging takes place. If you imagine help being given to another, that help is being given to another. If you are surrounding another with an image of peace, then peace is a part of the other's existence.

It is like building up a store of strength. After a time the individual for whom you pray is equipped with what is needed to go beyond the current problems. It does not mean that the other for whom you pray will automatically reach down and draw upon the strength from within. But it does mean that that strength is there. The soul, the individual, can choose to draw upon that strength or ignore it. That is the matter of choice which belongs to the human condition. But your prayers for another that he or she may choose to be open to God will have a benefit upon that soul, you may be assured.

Peace is to be sought after, but peace is also to be recognized. Peace is not just something one looks for. Peace is a recognition of what one has. When you pray for peace, you pray for its recognition, not merely its presence. The difference is an important one, and you will find a greater sense of confidence in prayer when you recognize that peace is not just something to be bestowed, but something to be drawn from because it is there.

The presence of peace is the presence of God. If peace is from God, then peace is always to be found. Have faith in your recognition of the peace which you have within you. Find evidence of God's light in your lives by being open to those surprises about which you pray.

God is with you. God’s light is with you. God’s presence can be a surprise that meets you when you least expect it. Open yourself to the unexpected light of God and you will find its warmth and comfort.

Your guides are together and we focus God's energy intensely upon your souls. Rejoice in God’s light! And now we bless you with God’s presence.

Amen.