Deeper Meaning Of Biblical Prayer

Now, first of all this in many ways applies to the idea of prayer itself, regardless of its religious affiliation. Nonetheless, I will use a bit of biblical scripture in the thread, and therefore it's kind of focusing in on the biblical idea of prayer. It's all about what really is a classic religious problem, whether you are talking about eastern or western religions. And that is desire, and what its proper relationship is to the actuality of things. In the East especially there is the idea of losing all desire. The biblical idea appears to be a different one, but nonetheless potentially profound.

You do not deny your desires. You do not suppress them. You allow yourself to fully feel and experience that desire. If you truly want it, you ask God for it. You feel the desire as much as you can, you imagine its fulfillment, you ask the Infinite power behind everything for it. Yet there is more, which to best exemplify I should quote a biblical verse.

Luke 22:42 - "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; nonetheless, not my will, but thy will be done."

This verse is in many ways a problem for Christians. Their whole theology is the necessity of a literal crucifixion, its literally being the most important part of the plan for the world. And Jesus, who is supposed to be one of the Persons of God incarnated, is praying for God to make it not happen? Well first of all, it clarifies the 'fully human, fully God' paradox, and also demonstrates that the greater purpose of the story of Jesus is not belief in a bunch of specifics about a man who lived thousands of years ago's life, but rather to personify man himself, in his common form and in his greater spiritual/divine form.

But, I strayed from the main topic in that last paragraph. "Not my will, but thy will." This is the flip side of the coin to feeling your desires, visualizing them, and asking for them. You follow this by, nonetheless, not my will, but thy will. You are not trying to over-ride the great power behind the Universe. You're trying to work with it to move forward the increase of love and joy. Whatever the power behind the Universe does, you accept without resistance.

We've talked a bit about the human will side of things, but now we need to look at the divine will side of this equation. Everything is a manifestation of the Divine Will. Nothing can happen other than what that divine wills. Manifested existence is the expression of that will. But when we pray, we openly let our will be known to the divine. And when it happens? The divine will was aligned with our will. And this is reason for happiness, and reason to be grateful. We smile that our will lined up with the will that manifests the Universe, and we thank it. Another thing to keep in mind, that solves a common conundrum with prayer, is whether it was just going to happen anyways or the prayer was answered. This stems from looking at it wrong. Prayer is asking the divine will to align with your will. Whatever manifests is the divine will. If it happens, the divine will aligned with your will, and that is the only question. There is no dichotomy between 'just happened' and 'answered prayer.'

One more verse that is relevant and illuminating...

Phillippians 4:6 - "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.
v. 11 - "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am in, to be content."

a reply to: TheJourney

I like this. I have never been Christian myself. When I was younger I never understood how they got to the message that I took away from them, that of an angry vengeful god that had certain demands. Fortunately for me my family felt the same way and did not force the issue.

As I grew into my adolescence, I developed the athiestic view in the sense of rebellion against the various forms of religion in the small town I was living. I was not truly an athiest though. Ever since I was about 5 and I found out that trees give me what I breathe and I in turn I give them what they breathe, I have always felt there was something more.

I never put much thought into prayer, it always had the connection to that angry god in the sky crap so I never went with it. However what I am taking away from your thread is that, prayer in its true form is simply aligning yourself with your Higher Self. This I can agree upon and it makes the idea of prayer much lighter. Not so serious, the universe which is in my faith, Gods mind, responds to our thoughts, our thoughts are our prayers, hence why gratitude is so important.

You do not deny your desires. You do not suppress them. You allow yourself to fully feel and experience that desire. If you truly want it, you ask God for it. You feel the desire as much as you can, you imagine its fulfillment, you ask the Infinite power behind everything for it. Yet there is more, which to best exemplify I should quote a biblical verse

Funny how this works, truly it does, nowadays they call it the law of attraction!

a reply to: TheJourney

The pure in heart have no need of prayer.

Prayer is born of desire and as such is a movement away from the divine.

That is what Meister Eckhart taught.

I mention that just as food for thought...not as a personal view.

I see prayer as mostly just a form of meditation. If done right, it provides most if not all of the same benefits of meditation.

Why then would God create a corrupt Earth then give us free will and all the other human failings?, such as lust, would it be for us to experience the non-divine, would we only then be able to recognize the divine? Duality must exist in all things?

2 Peter 1:2 "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

a reply to: TheJourney

...Prayer is asking the divine will to align with your will. Whatever manifests is the divine will. If it happens, the divine will aligned with your will...

Hmm. Divine will shifts to align with personal will? Not the other way around? Really?

That is a wonderful glimpse into the real meanings behind the word. Makes sense of the passage. Co-creation, not willfulness, but faith in Good and wanting to be responsible.

a reply to: InTheLight

The scriptures have 2 roads in them, one is awakening, hidden tao, and soul progression/ascension, the other is the trap and literal or smiting God, and alot of alteration in them.

But your question about God creating this world. There are definitions of what people term God, however various cycles of different models of humans and the Entities and ETs behind them that gain access due to the behaviors of those humans, how much they give into their flesh basically and inequality and domination and violence and greed. Because its interactive, and you do more good, rise above the material and more Good has access here, the opposite also is true. So this team of human and non human seems to create the mess we're in. Not God.

If you read up on the physicist David Bohm, and his work studying atoms, and his theory after viewing the wave function, lack of matter existing, but a kind of backdrop or screen, and holographic universe, then you'd be able to put on a list of possibilities and probabilities, that this universe, or even our solar system, or even the enviro around earth, depending on the size of the test tube, started out like a very pure reflection of home, intrinsically Good, until everyone soiled the playpen.

As for God,

www.sacred-texts.com...

The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and
unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and
unchanging name.

(Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven
and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all
things.....

(The Tao) produces (all things) and nourishes them; it produces
them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not
boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control them.
This is what is called 'The mysterious Quality' (of the Tao)....

Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it
will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest?
Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise.

They who preserve this method of the Tao do not wish to be full (of
themselves). It is through their not being full of themselves that
they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete.

What we call God, does not dominate, does not force, is not the authorative smiting literal god usurping the real message, that Rome orchestrated, that branches in the Judaic orchestrated, there have always been literalists who saw a purpose in pushing forth simple magical beliefs that made children out of the masses, who needed Authoritative rule, however that is not the Hidden, real God who is Spirit.

This is about becoming, and growing up, not childhood enforced by the greedy elite. When one does begin the journey they are not alone, but indeed Family, nourishment and help is all around, sustaining them.

But they still have to walk the journey, though leaps and bounds may occur, and breakthroughs, they're still doing it, like a student finishing High School, passing the tests, due to effort and study. Sometimes you can be handed answers before the exams, but its because you're already doing extra work beyond the course material most are on and these answers start to be given as you discover them. But you still have to toe onto the platform and push for it, like a Salmon swimming upstream. Growth.

Beauties in the Eye of the Beholder.

a reply to: Unity_99

Thank you for your mindful post of non-biblical paths as well as quantum physics, but you have veered off the beaten path, so to speak - from the strictest of biblical teachings.

a reply to: InTheLight

Of course, because the strict ones are lies. I don't deal with lies but educate with whats under the scenes. And when you ask about a God who would create a world like this, that would be probably the biggest question going, throughout millions of years of history, as long as those artifacts continue to emerge from eons ago. And those who have found both subjective truths, ie inner mystic searches, and even a joint body of similarities between those journeys, ie basis of some philosophy and religions.

And consider the original Christians, essenes and gnostics to have more understanding of the scriptures than the so called strict interpretations today.

a reply to: Unity_99


Of course, for me, it comes down to one's realities and beliefs, but isn't acceptance of quantum mechanics and choosing a non-biblical path to enlightment simply having faith in others' beliefs?

originally posted by: InTheLight
Why then would God create a corrupt Earth then give us free will and all the other human failings?, such as lust, would it be for us to experience the non-divine, would we only then be able to recognize the divine? Duality must exist in all things?

2 Peter 1:2 "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

Perhaps for a sort of evolutionary purpose whereby our will is refined until it lines up with the divine will, at which point even if we should ask a mountain to be moved into the sea, it will be done(matthew 21:21).

originally posted by: soficrow
a reply to: TheJourney

...Prayer is asking the divine will to align with your will. Whatever manifests is the divine will. If it happens, the divine will aligned with your will...

Hmm. Divine will shifts to align with personal will? Not the other way around? Really?

It's reciprocal. The divine will, relative to you and it's manifestation towards you, in some ways reflects your mind. But also your mind/will is 'supposed' to accept the divine will, and so over time become more like it.

a reply to: TheJourney

As a student of Neville Goddard's teachings since the age of 12; this is right on the money. I state this based on empirical means: that train of thought in the OP is very true. Life is good!

Blessings,

Involutionist

A prayer that is appropiate at almost any occasion, addressed to the divine within and behind all things:

I will to will thy will.