In giving, you receive.

January 10, 1982

God is with you in your circle at this time, but God is also with you at all times. It gives us so much pleasure to see you gathered for a brief period of prayer and spiritual unity. 

When we speak to you, we speak to you through prayer. It is your prayers which open the channels of communication. It is your prayers which bring each of us together. Without prayer it is difficult, nearly impossible, for us to speak to you. Prayer is essential in this group, but it is essential for you to receive God’s guidance directly when you are about your normal daily activities. Prayer is the means by which God reaches your souls. 

You communicate with each other through prayer. When one prays on behalf of another, the one who is praying reaches the soul of the other with the same immediacy as we on our side communicate with one another. The difference between your communication between souls in earthly life and our communication is the sense of response. When you pray for another, you do not feel the response of the other. You do not feel the warmth of reflection to your prayers, but the beneficial result of praying for another is nevertheless undeniable. 

When we pray for another, we are suddenly in the midst of that other’s soul. We are in its presence, and we recognize the response of that soul. It is not a response of words, but it is very definitely a response of feelings, and it is a visual response comprised of many colors. When we pray for a soul, the soul emanates an increased brilliance. That soul reflects our love. It reflects our light just as a mirror reflects light. So for us, it is much easier to recognize the response from another to our prayers. 

It would be so much easier for you if there were a way of your recognizing tangibly, immediately, the benefits of prayer for another. That is not the nature of human life. One must believe fully, however, that prayer for another is direct, beneficial, and has no intermediary step. When you pray to God about another, do not relay your prayer to God with a hope or trust that God will continue that prayer, reaching another. God is not a relay station for prayer. God is a facilitator for strength. Consider rather your prayers to be directed in a straight line through God to another. It is God who enables the strength of your love to reach another. God facilitates your communion with another person. 

It is a similar relationship to the experience of receiving such messages as we provide. The messages do not originate from us. They come directly from God, but it is we who facilitate your understanding and perception of God. God does not relay the words to us for us to store for later transmission. We receive God’s word as you receive God’s word. We merely help to focus it. 

The lens focuses a stream of light but never creates it. Our function is as a lens. God’s function, in a sense, is a lens for your prayers on behalf of another. God does not begin the help necessarily, but God is able to activate the help that you have begun. Yes, it is you who initiate so much of what is reflected through God. You can see a close relationship between the presence of God and the necessity of your being sensitive to what others need. God has spoken at earlier times of the need for human life to make God’s presence known. Perhaps that understanding is increased by your awareness that you can initiate, and God will facilitate. 

We know your concerns about family members, about your own spiritual progression, about the direction your life should take, about problems of short duration. Each of these concerns is shared by the others, as was stated previously. Everyone experiences the same feelings and difficulties. What differs is the timing and the degree, but the experience is the same. An effective way of coping with the difficulties which you may face is looking for a way to alleviate the difficulties of someone else. What we are saying is that by providing strength for another, you are giving yourself the depth and strength necessary for your own needs. When you pray that another may be given spiritual wisdom, you are strengthened in such wisdom. When you feel discouraged or distraught, seek out ways of providing for others who are in great need. 

Of course you should pray for God’s strength in your own life, but you must actively direct your attention towards strengthening the lives of others. As God has taught, you must apply your understanding of God—not merely think about it or ponder its meaning. The truths of which we speak must be applied. It is in giving that you truly receive. That is the meaning of the idea. 

When you are sad, find ways of making another happy. You will then find happiness. When you are discouraged, search for ways of giving confidence to another, and you will receive that confidence. If you merely received confidence for the asking, the process would stop there. No one would benefit, but when in order to receive you must give, the process becomes an expansive one. The circle becomes wider. The love is spread much wider, and God’s work is done. God’s presence is felt by more than just yourself. 

Certainly, when you have concerns, you must feel you can ask God for guidance and comfort, but you must recognize that it is only in giving of yourself that you can fully receive God’s strength. God recognizes that you have your needs which must be met. God also recognizes that there are times in your life when you are primarily a receiver and other times when you are a giver, and that is, of course, all right. Not always can you be in a position of giving when you are in such need. 

Whenever possible you will find you are more aware of God’s presence and God’s strength-giving when you find reason for giving to others at a time when you feel there is nothing to give. It is like runners in a long race who feel they can go no further for there is no strength left, but then unexpectedly they proceed to the end and reflect backwards at the incredible instant when they were able to give more at a time when they were convinced there was nothing left to give. When you feel you have nothing more to give and that you can only receive, the recognition that you are truly able to provide for another is strong evidence of God moving within your life. 

You have much in your life to look forward to. You have much to gain from experiences. You have much to give. We see very clearly that each of you in the group is developing spiritually. 

We pray for each of you. We grow through your prayers. Truly we are all united in our presence within the light of God, and now we bless you with the strength of that magnificent presence. 

Amen.