Careful What U Pray 4
by: DrsBilandCherHolton |
Total views: 9 |
Word Count: 1313 | Print View
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything from Picasso to Van Gogh. They would often sit together and admire their immense collection.
They had planned a buying trip to Europe, but the Iraq war interrupted their plans. The son's reserve unit was sent to Baghdad.
During his second tour of duty the son was killed by a roadside bomb. The father had lost his wife to cancer and now he had lost his only son.
A little over a month later, just before Thanksgiving, there was a knock at the front door. A young man stood at the door holding a large package.
He said, "Sir, I am a stranger to you, but I served with your son in Iraq. He saved my life. He was the most courageous man I've ever seen. He often talked about you, and your mutual love for art."
The surprise visitor held out the box. "I know this isn't much. I'm not a famous artist, but I believe your son would want you to have this."
The father opened the gift. It was a portrait of his son in military uniform. He stared in awe at the way the young soldier had captured his son's personality.
He thanked the young man and offered to purchase the painting.
"Oh, no sir." Countered the young man, "I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift for you." They spent the rest of the day talking about the man's son and the arts.
The father hung the portrait over the mantle. Whenever friends visited he showed them the portrait of his son before he showed them any of his latest acquisitions.
On New Year's day the bereaved widower made his own transition. Some of his dearest friends believed it was from a broken heart. At his request upon his death, he wanted his paintings auctioned. Many rich people and art dealers came to add his rare paintings to their own collections.
The painting of his son sat on the auction easel. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "We will begin the bidding with this portrait. Who will bid for this painting of the son?"
There was silence, then nervous whispers. Finally a voice from the back of the room shouted, "We're not interested in that one. We've come to buy the Picassos, and Rembrandts, and Raphaels."
However the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100? $200?
Another voice shouted angrily, "We didn't come to bid on this painting. We're here for the Van Goghs and the DiVincis."
Undaunted, the auctioneer responded, "The son. Who will take the son?"
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the devoted gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $100 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. He loved the man and his son and felt the son was his son too.
"We have $100. Who will give $200?"
"Give it to him for $100. Let's see the master's works, the real paintings." Someone shouted.
$100 is the bid. Won't someone bid $200?
The crowd became angry. They didn't want the inferior painting. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, going twice, SOLD for $100.
The room broke out in applause. One man handed $10 to the gardener as a token thank you for speeding up the auction, but the gardener refused. "They always made me feel like I was part of the family," he confessed. "I have always enjoyed my employment with them."
His purchase of the painting came from answered prayer. He had wanted a memento, and now he had one. He had gotten a small inheritance from the man's will, but the painting of his son was truly a blessing.
All at once, the auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, but that concludes the auction. The auction is over."
"What?" shouted the audience. "What do you mean the 'auction is over?'"
"I apologize for such a sudden end to these proceedings. When I was called to conduct this auction I was informed of a stipulation in the will. I can now reveal that stipulation. Only the portrait of the son was to be auctioned. Whoever bought the portrait would inherit the entire estate! The gentleman who bid $100 for the son gets everything!"
It is through the acupuncture of prayer that we find peace, and rest, and answers, and wealth. Like the gardener, we have immediate access to the Omnipresence of Supply. Our good is waiting for us. It is just a prayer away. All we have to do is turn to the Son, the Christ Spirit within.
Although the way we pray differs, most people have learned from the faith traditions in which they grew up to ask, to petition, to beg an external anthropomorphic deity for something they believe they don't have. They believe in 'dial-up' prayer instead of instant, high speed access prayer.
In this 6th in a series of "Get Over It" messages we have selected the well-known New Thought phrase 'Be careful what you pray for' as a phrase which should be laid to rest with the embedded theology which gave birth to it.
It is an assumption which adds credence to the anthropomorphic deity myth which has kept our eyes focused on a super-being 'out there' who will save us if we're obedient, patient, and gullible.
The help 'out there' theology is perpetuated by the mythological Superman, Batman, and Super Hero characters which Hollywood has so skillfully produced for us.
We were all born with the belief that our Savior will come from 'out there.' That our Savior must be some sort of super hero with super powers. Essentially the message is we are too unworthy, weak, and whinny to save ourselves.
In his book, Dynamics For Living, Charles Fillmore asserted, "The way to attain health and wealth is to put your prayerful words and creative actions to work and bring into swift action the Superman Christ within."
The super hero is within us. It is the Superman Christ part of us. The day we identify with our Superman Christ within, and not with fictitious superheroes 'out there' we master our human experience.
Prayer works the same way. We believe there is a collective wisdom at our core, and shared by all of us, that senses an unseen spiritual Presence. A Presence that is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent.
In Matthew 21:22 the Christ said: "Whatever we ask in prayer, believing with faith, we shall receive." The word 'ask' really means 'affirm or declare.' And 'prayer' means 'direct, unobstructed communion with Spirit.'
So, what Matthew 21:22 is really telling us is when we affirm our oneness with Spirit by communing with Spirit to make that connection, and believe that we have passport-free access to Universal Supply, we will receive all we need to manifest our abundance. This verse is the key to manifesting our good.
It is praying FROM this unobstructed oneness, that we move toward our good. It is FROM this inner place of alignment with the Omnipresence of God that we position ourselves to receive.
This means we do not have to pray TO a God 'out there.' There's no need to dial-a-prayer! We don't have to worry for what we pray believing that if we don't pray right we might get something other than what we prayed for. That's not how prayer works!
There's no dispensing deity 'up there' waiting for us to make a mistake in our prayer languaging so It can surprise us with something we didn't expect. There are no prayer police watching our prayers to see if we're asking for the right things.
'Be careful for what you pray for' is fear-based theology. It is not useful to build guilt, and fear, and anxiety into a prayer experience.
What is useful is to live a prayer-conditioned life, one which is characterized by absolute trust in your oneness with Spirit.
About the Author
Drs. Bil & Cher Holton are Spiritual Leaders at Unity Spiritual Life Center in Durham, NC, where they practice positive, practical, progressive Christianity. Visit their website at Unity Spiritual Life Center and sign up to receive a complimentary 4-week e-course.
Rating: Not yet rated
