Ask: Is prayer for physical things based on fear?

Is prayer for physical things based on fear? I’m a fifty year old man with a very struggling business. I have been studying the Course for about nineteen months now with regular meditations. I’m in debt that I accumulated over the years and they have gone to such an extent that I am now receiving threats. I normally pray for love and peace but deep down there is strong yearnings to pray for money and good fortune for my business so that I can pay these people, get my business in shape and focus on my spiritual path. Is prayer for money intervention in order to pay my debts based on fear?-HPWS

Fear certainly leads you to feel that you need to pray for anything. And your strong desire to pray for money and good fortune reveals that you still believe that your fear is caused by the personal self’s lack of money. The flip-side of this is that you feel that the personal self having enough money will release you from fear. It’s true that if the personal self had enough money to pay its debts you would no longer be able to project the source of your fear onto a lack of money. But this would only undo your fear in this very specific context. Fear would still manifest for you in other ways.
A Course in Miracles teaches that true prayer is not petitioning a separate power for what you think you need but opening your mind to God to become aware that you have no needs. In Truth you are whole and complete. The story of lack that you see before you is only a false idea in your mind. So you also do not have to pray for love and peace. You only have to become aware that you already have love and peace and your sense of lack will dissolve.
Since what shows up for you in the universe of form is an effect of your mind, as you center your mind in Truth (God) and you grow in the awareness that you have everything in Truth this will be reflected in the universe of form. The answers that you need for the personal self’s seeming-problems will come to you, either directly in your mind or through others. The irony is that this will happen when it no longer matters to you what is or is not showing up in the universe of form. When you are aware that you have everything within you, you recognize that the universe of form is only a meaningless effect.
So if you want inner peace you only have to invite Truth into your awareness. Use this situation to do just that. When fear comes over you, turn inward and remember your experiences of Truth. Remind yourself that only they are true, not what is showing up in the universe of form. Rest in this awareness. Ask the Teacher of Truth (Holy Spirit) for a new way of looking at the debt situation. Keep your mind open because sometimes the answer can surprise you. If your mind wanders back to worrying remind yourself that you have already asked for help. It is always given. You will hear the answer when you are ready to hear it.

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Learn about the books The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, The ACIM Mentor Articles, and 4 Habits for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.

If you have a question for the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered here.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Very timely question and response, Liz...when the seeming world is bent on blaming everyone else for lack and pain. The Truth is still true and your answers are still Truth. Thank you for consistently bringing this message into our One Mind. So healing. Gratitude!
10:28 AM
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