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The Dance of Prayer
Part I
By
Shaheerah Stephens
Prayer is the key for 2007. As I shared in my
last article (please click here to view the article) there will be vast unexpected changes taking place in our personal lives. This
also includes the life of our nation and the world. It’s a nine-year and
nine is a number of endings, elimination and letting go. This is the year to
pray and meditate more.
So many people say, “I don’t know how to pray.” Well “help me” is a great prayer. The Creator
already knows because we are one with God. Charles Fillmore the co-founder of
Unity says, “Prayer is communion between God and man. This communion takes
place in the innermost part of our being. Prayer is the most highly accelerated
mind action known. It steps up mental action until our consciousness synchronizes
with the Christ Mind.”
Prayer is not about begging. Effective prayer
is about affirming. The Lord’s Prayer is actually a series of affirmations. Roger Fenton translated the Lord’s Prayer as follows: “Our Father in the
Heavens, your name must be being hallowed; Your kingdom must be being restored; your will must be being done, both in Heaven
and upon the Earth. Give us today our tomorrow’s bread; And forgive us
our faults, as we forgive those offending us, for you would not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from its evil.”
As a minister, I receive all types of heart-wrenching and heart-warming news and prayer requests. Sometimes I don’t know what to say. Some
information makes my head spin. I have learned through my training that if I
just take the first step in the dance of prayer, the right words will come.
The first movement
in the dance of prayer is recognition. The term cognition comes from the Latin: cognoscere,
"to know") So when we say recognition it means to know again. To recognize.
I
usually begin with the three Omnis… God is Omnipresent meaning there is no spot where God is not. God is Omniscient; the all-pervading Source knows everything about everybody and everything. God is Omnipotent; there is only one presence and one power active in the Universe and in your life and
my life; God the good, omnipotent.
This movement helps me to settle into the truth that I know about Source. Once I am settled
in, Spirit takes over my mouth. It already knows what the person is dealing with
and what needs to be uttered. I have learned to trust that.
If I am praying about a health situation I might say, “There is only one life, and that
life is God, and that life is the life of John Doe.” In the recognition
you are becoming consciously one with the One Power. Whatever we focus on expands;
so as we focus on these attributes we are expanding the attributes in ourselves and/or in the person we are praying for.
The Creator has so many wonderful attributes that we can become one with such as peace, love,
harmony, abundance, joy, beauty, order, wholeness, creativity, perfection, success, guidance, healing, freedom, self-love,
divine right action, clarity, faith, justice, gratitude, generosity, compassion, serenity, transformation, health, prosperity,
wisdom, forgiveness, intelligence, love, etc. What would you like to see revealed
in this situation?
There is a prayer style called “centering prayer”.
When you do a centering prayer you are focusing on one word and centering your attention on that one word. You can practice a centering prayer very easily. You can practice it as you drive, at the stoplight, or
as you go through the car wash. If you are filled with fear, center in on the
word “peace”. If you are feeling sad, focus in on the word, “joy”. Get it?
While
attending the Johnnie Coleman Institute in Chicago, Illinois she taught
us that there were 5 attributes that would solve any challenge or situation. Those
attributes are love, life, wisdom, power and substance.
Love
is the greatest power that there is in the universe. We live, move and have our
being in the life of God. We are already one with all the wisdom that there is,
so when we need to know something all we have to do is ask and observe because our answers come from everywhere. Power is our ability to do, and we are one with the One Undeniable Power of God. When we come to the end of all our so-called human power we can fall back on the power of God. So if you can’t see your way out, you are in a great place…begin now to “recognize”. Recognize that you are not alone. Recognize
that you are one with divine guidance, love and support. The Universe still needs
what you came to offer.
God is divine, invisible substance. It is the divine idea of the underlying reality of all things. Substance
is everywhere present and pervades all things. It underlies all manifestation
and is the spiritual essence, the living energy out of which everything is made. One
of my favorite affirmations is “Divine substance reads my needs and becomes the thing needed.” If you could just imagine the world surrounded with invisible cookie dough and your thoughts are the cookie
cutters; they cut out your thoughts and bring them into your life as experiences. Basically,
that’s how it works. Everything comes from a thought. Charles Fillmore says, “We are a thought in the mind of God so as we think, we are thinking in the
mind of God.” Think about that for 60 seconds.
The more focused our thinking is the quicker the
idea comes out of the invisible into the visible as our life experience. We don’t
get to orchestrate how all that happens.
So, if you are desiring more energy, better health,
or a healing your first movement in prayer would be to recognize God as life. And
that this life is your life, and that this life is coming alive in every cell and organ in your body. Spend time contemplating that idea about 10 minutes a day.
If you are challenged with a lack of finances your
first movement in prayer would be to recognize God as love. Divine love always
has and always will meet every need. God is love.
Divine love is prospering me now. Or you could make your first movement a focus on Substance. Divine Substance is shaping itself now into a new position. Divine
Substance is shaping itself into new avenues of supply. Divine substance moves
upon itself and brings whatsoever we need into visibility.
If you are feeling alone or lonely your first movement
would again be love. Recognize that God is love and you are made out of God stuff,
therefore, you are love. Begin to do things everyday for yourself that say to
you “I love me”. You must begin to enjoy your own company before
someone else is going to be able to enjoy your company.
God knows how every successful business became successful. God knows how every soul mate met their soul mate.
God is wisdom and we can access this wisdom by recognizing it. An affirmation
I have used for over two decades is “I am divinely guided so unmistakably right that I can’t help but see my way.”
If you feel powerless, that might be a great position
to be in, for then you are in a position to see the power and might of the Creator in your life. Power is represented by the disciple Phillip, and he rules the throat area. His color is purple. You have power in your spoken word so
be mindful of every word that you speak. Re-cognize, re-know what you already
know within you. Recognize that you are a divine expression of God and the Source
desires to express as your life! This is what I know!
Rev. Shaheerah Stephens is author of The Wealth of a Spiritual Woman and the Spiritual Leader at Transforming Love Community. She is a sought after keynote speaker and workshop facilitator.
Each month we will feature writings that reflect
the Truth Principles.
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