Ascension Research Center

Home page Books Names of God Index Search Ascension Research Center What's New?
Ascension Research Center does not guarantee the accuracy of any content on this site or on any external sites linked to us.
The Word of the Ascended Masters is the ultimate Authority in any question relating to Truth.

How To Get Great Results When You Pray

by Craig Donaldson

Praying Hands


Gandhi once said, "Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul." Prayer is one of the oldest forms of devotion on the planet. It is a wonderful source of joy, comfort and spiritual upliftment for millions of people the world over and still remains one of the most effective means of connecting with God (or whatever you choose to call the Creator). It can be as simple as a "thank you" to the universe, or deep and holy prayer uttered from the heart. Here are some simple practices you can use to increase the power of your own prayer:

Set Aside A Special Time And Place For Prayer

You can pray more effectively if you have a special time and place for doing so. The early morning or just before going to bed are good times to pray. It doesn’t have to long — five minutes is a great start.

It also helps if you have a routine place to pray in. It need not be a whole room — a private corner in a bedroom or study will do. Find a clean place that is well lit and aired. You can set up a small altar with some candles, flowers and crystals, and favorite pictures of saints or angels, pictures of loved ones or friends in need of healing. This is your private space for going within so make sure you feel comfortable with it.

Ask God To Help You In Your Prayer

God is not only able to answer your prayer, but He is also able to make your prayer to Him stronger. You can also ask the Angels or your Higher Self to help you pray. You have a special contact with God through your Higher Self, or your Christ Self. Your Christ Self is truly your Best Friend, Inner Teacher and Voice of Conscience. When you pray, it is your Christ Self who goes before God to intercede for you.

There are some mantras you can use to help God and your Holy Christ Self to help you. Jesus once appeared to the fourteenth century saint, Catherine of Sienna, as she was praying and said to her:

"Do you know, daughter, who you are and Who I AM? If you know these two things, you would be blessed. You are that which is not; I AM He Who Is. If you have This Knowledge in your soul, the enemy can never deceive you; you will escape all His snares; you will never consent to anything contrary to My Commandments; and without difficulty you will acquire every Grace, every Truth, every Light."

Thus Catherine gleaned a profound insight: "God All, I nothing", and the mantra "Thou the All, I the nothing" was inspired upon her. Every time she recited it, she was emptying herself for the Divine to enter. You can also use this mantra before praying to draw closer to your Holy Christ Self.

God Is The Doer

The power of your prayers will increase dramatically when you realize that God is the Doer. Jesus affirmed this when He said: "I of Mine Own Self can do nothing. It is the Father in Me which doeth the work." In prayer, it is the Divine within you appealing to the Divine Above.

The Divine within you is a Part of God that He has placed within you as His child. It is a Spiritual Flame that burns within your heart, and can increase in size by the power of fervent prayer. This Spiritual Flame has three "plumes" which embody the primary attributes of God: Love, Wisdom and Power. This Flame is the "Kingdom of Heaven" within that Jesus spoke about.

An eleventh-century Byzantine saint called Symeon the New Theologian spoke of this Flame in the heart: "What words can describe this! . . . I see a Light which the world does not possess. Sitting in the cell I see within me the Creator of the world." The Chandogya Upanishad, a sacred Hindu text, tells us that "The Light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all, . . . this is the Light that shines in our hearts."

One Buddhist text says of this Flame: "The road of Buddha-hood is open to all. At all times have all living beings the Germ of Buddha-hood in them." When you really allow the Divine within you to reach out for help to God above, the results can be spectacular.

Center In Your Heart

We all use our outer consciousness in daily activities. When we’re at work, watching TV or playing sport, most often our attention is focused outside of us. But in prayer, we need to turn our consciousness inward. By doing this you are "going into the closet to pray". You are shutting your consciousness to the outside world to go within and spend time with God. You can do this through a simple exercise.

First, concentrate on your heart and imagine you are breathing through your heart. Then visualize a brilliant Sun of Light above you. It is so bright it is almost blinding. Then see this Sun gently descending into your heart. See yourself entering this brilliant Sphere of Light, where you find your own special prayer place. You may see your Heart Flame, Holy Christ Self, Ascended Masters or Angels. Ascended Masters are Spiritual Beings who once walked the earth like you and me. They balanced their karma, fulfilled Their reason for being and reunited with, or Ascended back to, God.

Talk to Them about what is on your heart. Don’t be bashful — They dearly want to be your closest Friends, and will listen to you with Unconditional Love.

Adjust Your Prayer According To The Will Of God

There may be many things we desire — good health, more money, a better job, a new car. We all need money and other possessions to live in a material world, and God is more than happy to supply us with these things if it will bring us closer to Him.

But God knows what is the best possible Gift for us at any moment. There are many more things that He can and will give us — Gifts of the Spirit like Compassion, Wisdom and Healing that will make us a lot happier in ourselves, and more at peace with others.

So instead of asking that our prayer be answered as we want, you can ask that your prayer "be adjusted according to the Will of God" to receive the answer that is best for you and for the souls whom you are praying for.

Use the Name of God

Some people can get great results in prayer just by speaking to God without using His Name. But when you use the Name of God, "I AM THAT I AM", you increase the power of your prayer greatly.

When God spoke to Moses out of the Burning Bush, He told him to tell the children of Israel that His Name is "I AM THAT I AM" and that "This is My Name forever, and this is My Memorial unto all generations. The Jerusalem Bible translates this as "This is My Name for all time; by This Name I shall be invoked for all generations to come." When God revealed His Name to Moses, He was giving us the authority to invoke Him through His Name. To use this in prayer, simply pray, "God, in your Name 'I AM THAT I AM', please . . ."

Always pray out loud if possible. There is Power in your voice. God used this Power when He said "Let there be Light." By using your gift of speech, you can also increase the effectiveness of your prayer.

Visualize What You Want To Happen

What you think about when you pray can greatly affect the quality of your prayer. You can increase the power of your prayer by mentally seeing the answers to your prayers. Always picture something better than you are experiencing now, and see the answers to your prayers come to life, just like a movie. You can also visualize brilliant Light surrounding the situation or problem. If you are working with a particular Master or Angel, see Them interceding on your behalf.

For example, if you are having difficulty forgiving someone, concentrate on feelings of Peace, Understanding and Forgiveness. See the two of you hugging, making up and being friends. See that newfound friendship getting stronger with understanding and acceptance. Even if you don’t mean it to start off with and have to grit your teeth to do it, you will find that it works and, over time, you will be able to love that person.

Let Go

You can increase the power of your prayer by letting go and turning over to God whatever you are praying about. When you do this, your prayer soars Heavenward, allowing God and His Angels to work on answering it without hindrance.

When you don’t let go, your energies can interfere with the prayer being answered as swiftly and as powerfully as possible. Don’t be attached to the outcomes of your prayers and try not to anticipate how your desires will be fulfilled. For many, waiting for the answers to their prayers is their greatest test. They often become discouraged and give up just as God is about to answer their prayers.

If you have any doubts about God’s Ability to answer your prayers, turn them over to Him, and ask Him for the Faith to believe in Him.

Be Grateful

By cultivating Gratitude, you open yourself to receiving more of God’s Gifts. Gratitude is the Law of Increase. If you thank God not only for the answers you do receive, but for those you don’t, or unexpected answers, you open yourself up to receiving more from Him. You can express this at the end of your prayer, for example, as you adjust your prayer according to God’s Will you can say: "I thank you God and accept it done now with full Power according to Your Will. Amen"

You can also express your Gratitude throughout the day to God and send Him thanks for the answers to your prayers. Don’t be disappointed if your prayers aren’t answered immediately. God may be trying to lead you in another direction that will be more beneficial for you.

Prayer is two-way, so don’t forget to listen to God throughout the day for His Replies. Be prepared for results, even if They aren’t the ones you are expecting. Many people have had their prayers answered even years later when they forgot all about them.

Be Specific

The more specific you are in your prayers, the better God is able to answer you. As long as you are living your life in Harmony and devoting your energy to helping others, God will help you with the smallest details of your life.

For example if you need a new car, include all the details — cost, make, model, year, registration, color, condition and mileage. If you need a Spiritual Gift, such as Compassion, explain the nature of the problem, such as judgment or criticism, when and where it appears, with whom and how. Ask God to help you overcome it, and be willing to follow His Guidance from your heart.

It can help to make a list of all the things you need help with to be more specific. Ask yourself what you want out of your prayers. You can recite the list each day in prayer, ticking things off as they are answered, and adding new things as they arise.

Accept God’s Gifts

God wants to give us a lot — often all that we want and more. When we can surrender our desires to God and allow Him to give us what He wants, we open ourselves up to an Infinite Source of Abundance.

There may be times when you feel unworthy of God’s Love and Gifts. If you don’t feel worthy to accept God’s Gifts, it helps to "act as if". Act as if you are worthy, and a sense of worthiness will follow. You can also use affirmations to increase your sense of worthiness, for example, "I AM worthy to be loved because I AM a child of God." Visualize yourself radiating Love and Light as God’s child while you repeat this affirmation.

You are a loving and precious child of God and deserve all that He has to offer.

The Power of Affirmations and Decrees

Another popular form of self-development is the affirmation. Affirmations are positive statements that affirm what you want to do or what you are seeking to become. You can also increase the power of affirmations by using God’s Name, as you can in prayer.

Jesus used God’s Name when He affirmed "I AM the Resurrection and the Life." Affirmations often simply use "I AM" rather than the full "I AM THAT I AM". When you say "I AM THAT I AM", you are affirming that God is where you are. Every time you say "I AM . . . ", you are really saying "God in me is . . . " and thus drawing to yourself whatever follows. When you affirm "I AM Illumination", you are saying that God in you is attracting more of the Quality of Illumination that you possess.

"I AM" is a formula that unlocks God’s Authority and His Energy of Creation when it is given with love. It is more powerful than other affirmations like "I will . . ." not only because it uses God’s Name, but because it affirms that you already are what you are seeking to become in the here and now.

One particularly powerful form of affirmation-prayer is called the decree. Decrees are a step-up on all forms of prayer and release tremendous amounts of Spiritual Energy because they combine prayer, meditation and visualization in the one exercise. Prayer is more devotional and comes from the heart chakra, while visualization is an exercise of your spiritual sight, or third eye, and meditation is more an exercise of illumination, which is centered in the crown chakra. When spoken aloud, decrees use all of the four higher chakras — heart, throat (speech/power), third eye and crown.

There are decrees for Protection, Healing, Illumination, Love and many other positive Qualities. One of the simplest decrees for healing and spiritual development is "I AM a Being of Violet Fire! I AM the Purity God desires!"

The Violet Flame is a Spiritual Energy that changes negative energy into Light. When you repeat the above decree with love and visualize a Violet Flame about yourself, you are combining the actions of heart, throat and brow chakras with the crown chakra, meditating upon God’s Flame and the Purity He desires you to be. You can start out with just a few minutes at a time, and see if you don’t feel the Power of decreeing!


References:


Great Central Sun Angels


   Search Ascension Research Center       powered by FreeFind

Share
Ascension Research Center
http://www.Ascension-Research.org
Ascension Research Center is run and maintained
by students of the Ascended Masters, and is not
sponsored by any organization.

Ascended Master Teachings on Facebook   Ascended Master Teachings on Facebook
Home Books Contact Us Current Messengers Index Search


Ascended Master Jesus Christ

Copyright © 2012 by Ascension Research Center with the exception of credited quotations. Third party material used on this website is quoted for the purposes of scholarship and research from sources which are either in the public domain, or within the bounds of fair use. Disclaimer: This website has not been endorsed by any author or copyright holder of the works discussed. No connection is implied nor should be inferred.

free counters