June 30, 1988

• The energy of prayer

• Practice what you pray

God joins all of your souls together into a single bond.

Indeed you are all searching. You are searching for different things, but at the end of that search really is a confirmation or the need for a confirmation or an acknowledgment of God. If God is acknowledged from within, all else will fall into place at the appropriate time. One searches for healing, another for peace, another for a sense of spiritual direction and validity. But you see, all of these are merely differing paths toward the same objective.

You wish to know the nature of God. You wish to know the meaning of peace. You wish to know the substance of prayer. You wish to know what it is to be healed. All of these questions are not only appropriate, but also self-repeating throughout the course of one's life. You will achieve peace, but you will lose it and must seek it again. You will achieve insight into prayer and the nature of God and healing, but that, too, will occasionally vanish only to be sought again.

For a life to enhance the strength of spiritual development, responding to the recognition of the need to search becomes essential, for meaningful life is never complacent. It is always directed. It must always have a purpose. Those purposes may change, and that is all to be expected, but nevertheless those purposes must always be present. If you are not seeking one objective, you may be seeking another immediate goal. That is the nature of human life. Because of the diversity of such seeking, your souls gather great strength and character and wisdom. We do not mean to belittle that which you seek, but rather to place into perspective.

The main focus of our communing with you the last time was on the need for peace. Your questions this evening relate almost exclusively to prayer: what it is, how it benefits another, what its potential is, and whether it indeed has any validity at all. These questions cannot be addressed in their entirety at one sitting, but we would like to respond to some of those issues that confront you now.

In a single word, prayer is energy. Prayer does not consist of an introduction, a main body, and a specific closing. Prayer, as you know, need not be verbalized, nor is it necessary to be conceived of in words that are thought. Prayer is an energy, a force, emanating from your spiritual being, often activated by conscious thought, but also given direction unconsciously. The energy which is prayer can be considered to be a state of being, an attitude. When you respond compassionately to another, selflessly and with no ulterior motives other than the benefit of another, that is prayer, for it is energy translated into a loving act. When you listen to someone who has something to share and that listening is nonjudgmental and patient and concentrated and compassionate, that is every bit as much a prayer as verbalizing such compassion within a worshipful or not worshipful setting.

Prayer is energy. It is always issued outward. One may pray for one's own healing, but that, too, is directed outward because it is an acknowledgment of the presence of God's healing upon yourself. It is not merely an assertion that you alone are self-sufficient for all contingencies.

Prayer is energy which is emitted with light. When you pray to God on behalf of another, you emit light. It is seen by us as light. It is a form of energy analogous to the energy of visible light. That energy, that light, radiates outward with great intensity. Light carries with it warmth. Warmth can increase the intensity of light and it is also a manifestation of light. When you pray for another, the soul of that other person is warmed by your light, and in turn radiates a stronger light. It is not just a figurative means of thinking about the power of prayer.

The energy which you give off which reflects love is prayer. Much of that energy is initiated in thought. Negative thoughts also are forms of energy. Negative thoughts, as you have observed, frequently can be detected if not verbally expressed. You have all experienced moments when you have sensed the negative thoughts of others. You must, however, be more ready to recognize the positive thoughts which are emitted through love. The energy of prayer is of the same reality as the energy of negative thoughts. If you recognize one, you must acknowledge the presence of the other.

It is the opportunity of humankind to organize or codify what prayer is or should be. This opportunity has been a part of humanity from the beginning. Humans have been aware of the potential for prayer, and in an attempt to control the results, have often controlled the means. By that we mean the nature of the prayer.

We must repeat that prayers need not be verbalized. For many it is a great help because it focuses conscious thoughts toward the compassionate embrace of others. To the extent that that can be accomplished through the suggestion of culturally agreed upon conventions of prayer, so be it. It is all right. But you must realize that it certainly is unnecessary.

It is also possible to utilize the energy of prayer with no knowledge of God. Individuals may not have thought about God and yet respond to another compassionately, respond to another with care and concern and gentleness, with love. Whether those individuals recognize God or not does not in any way effect the reality of their prayer in the broadest sense.

The truths that we share with you are broad in scope, universal in application. They are not restricted to a particular theological mindset. As a result, when we talk about prayer, we speak in the broadest sense. When we speak about peace, we use that term in the broadest sense, for no one can go through life completely void of concerns or anxieties or anger or frustration. It just cannot be done, and yet all can experience peace for some portions of their lives. But that peace that we speak of cannot be so all inclusive that never again does one experience those negative energies which encroach upon the state of peace.

Prayer is energy. It is translated into action. It is the way you live your life which gives meaning to your prayers. It is not merely the prayers themselves. Life could be considered as the manifestation of prayer. If you pray with compassion, you must live with compassion. If you pray with love, you must live with love. If you pray through a sense of peace, you must live with that peace for as long as you can.

It is your life that gives meaning to your prayers. It is your life which is the manifestation of the energy that is prayer. In an ultimate sense, one might even say that life itself could be a prayer. Those who live totally selflessly in their dealing with others are living prayerfully.

The terms which we use to describe concepts can at times create difficulty when you are trying to achieve the broadest understanding, for it is not the specifics which are so important here. It's the general application which is so essential. We urge you therefore to look for means of applying what insight you have achieved, rather than being limited by a narrow interpretation of specific terms.

There is much more to be said about prayer in the future, but this should help to clarify in each of your minds the potential of prayer through a greater understanding of its nature.

We bless you with God’s peace, we bless you with God’s love, and we surround you with the uplifting light of God.

Amen.