It is said that no prayer goes unanswered, and if you believe in free will, then that is true.
It is also said that we should not pray for our own benefit.
At one time, I believed and accepted this mindset and resisted when someone suggested that it was okay to pray for ones own benefit. To me, it seemed like an abuse of power and something we should not do, but the more I thought about it over the years, the less sense it made to me.
If our every thought defines our reality, then our life is very much a reflection of our beliefs. Even if it’s the belief that we have no control and there is no God, such will be your experience.
When you bring free will into the equation, (and if you don’t believe in it, then you will experience a life without it, as that is your belief system, hence your free will!) then this means that you don’t get anything you don’t ask for. If you did, then it would be contrary to your free will. If you accept that, then everything that occurs to you isn’t random (unless you believe it is), but a product of your thoughts and prayers.
And those thoughts and prayers create our belief system.
Our belief system is certainly something we cherish and hold onto, and even might defend to our dying breath.
We might feel powerless, but the thing is that all have enormous power, though few of us really understand it and see how our personal world relates to what we are creating.
How many people reading this have heard the words in their mind ‘You don’t know just how powerful you are?’
So should we pray for our own benefit and why don’t we?
In many spiritual philosophies, it’s considered an abuse of power to pray for yourself and generate positive outcomes. Some believe that you must let others pray for you instead.
In the so called new age philosophy, we are told to not acknowledge the negatives and at the same time, you are told that if you use your powers for self gain, you are abusing them. However, we create either way and it seems insane to think that creating negatives just because positives are considered abuse is somehow considered to be better.
People can find much difficulty in praying for abundance or a joyful life. They may well believe they are not worthy or that they will be punished by god or their own karma if they do. (This is also a belief system, and thus, they will indeed experience such a reality.)
Always remember that free will is our greatest gift. It can also be, at the same time, our greatest hindrance when you are not aware that you are creating your circumstances.
We have been given free will so we can create the exact circumstances in which we wish to live.
Unless you wish experience such a state of existence, there really is no benefit to being miserable and living in poverty and depression. If you believe in a God of love, it makes little sense that such a being would desire you to be unhappy.
From my own point of view, if you wish to use your powers to better your world, go for it. Just remember to let every thought and action reflect who you are and who you wish to be.
Life is for living and experiencing. We have the tools and the blessing to do it. So go for it. Be blessed and abundant.
Follow your bliss.
Well, no one else commented.
So, this idea of not praying for one’s self seems to have been drempt up in the founding of the early “established” churches. This was one effective way to keep the congregations emotionally-dependent on the church and its doctrines. This seems to be where I first encountered the idea of thinking of or for one’s self (once in a while) was considered “sinful” and evil. Well, survival of the Being is, in and of itself, a “SELF-ish” endeavor! Is it not the “SELF-preservation” mechanisms that drive most capable life into extremes for the purposes of attempting to survive and otherwise lethal or potentially lethal situation?
If we did not appeal to our appetite, when it demands our attention, we will surely starve to death. Yet, THAT can be taken to be a “SELF-ish” drive of “SELF-preservation”, but it is necessary.
So, sometimes to be a little “self-ish” is a necessary (not-) evil.
Being gratious and charitable towards others should always be encouraged and uplifted, but to the self-destruction of the giver. One must be able to act in a self-sustainable capacity, before he/she can help another who is NOT able to sustain one’s self.
Thank you for a well-written (and oftenly-neglected subject) article.
– Rev. Dragon’s Eye
. . . but NOT to the self-destruction of the giver. * * * GRRR! – I HATE MY TYPOS! * * *
Thank you for a really thoughtful and insightful comment.
>;~))====
Only speaking the truth as I understand it.
I truly like the article and the Rev. Dragon’s Eye comment! Thank you both for your clarity on the subject. I totally agree with your thinking.
Well, no one else commented.
So, this idea of not praying for one’s self seems to have been drempt up in the founding of the early “established” churches. This was one effective way to keep the congregations emotionally-dependent on the church and its doctrines. This seems to be where I first encountered the idea of thinking of or for one’s self (once in a while) was considered “sinful” and evil. Well, survival of the Being is, in and of itself, a “SELF-ish” endeavor! Is it not the “SELF-preservation” mechanisms that drive most capable life into extremes for the purposes of attempting to survive and otherwise lethal or potentially lethal situation?
If we did not appeal to our appetite, when it demands our attention, we will surely starve to death. Yet, THAT can be taken to be a “SELF-ish” drive of “SELF-preservation”, but it is necessary.
So, sometimes to be a little “self-ish” is a necessary (not-) evil.
Being gratious and charitable towards others should always be encouraged and uplifted, but to the self-destruction of the giver. One must be able to act in a self-sustainable capacity, before he/she can help another who is NOT able to sustain one’s self.
Thank you for a well-written (and oftenly-neglected subject) article.
– Rev. Dragon’s Eye
. . . but NOT to the self-destruction of the giver. * * * GRRR! – I HATE MY TYPOS! * * *
Thank you for a really thoughtful and insightful comment.
>;~))====
Only speaking the truth as I understand it.
I truly like the article and the Rev. Dragon’s Eye comment! Thank you both for your clarity on the subject. I totally agree with your thinking.
To inspire self-love in others through one’s one example is the greatest skill one can impart. The most powerful teachers put themselves first and watch their students rise to meet them in bliss, they never reach down and try to pull anyone up.
Someone conditioned to be pulled will always be searching for people to grab onto; someone who knows how to rise from within is an indestructible phenomenon…and now, a teacher.