The Power of Prayer
The Power of Prayer (Side note: Praying = Asking)
I have been making a conscious effort in my life to pray more; to ask life for what I need/desire/hope for. The Universe loves to know the specific brand of good we’re into, how we love to helped and in the specific ways it can create miracles to boost us on our way. So I’m asking and the results have been so fun.
When I first started to work with prayer, my mind got really noisy. Noise like, ‘Prayer is for people who are religious’ and ‘I have no idea how to pray’ and ‘is there a specific way to do this? What do I say? Who do I say it to? Do I have to sit on my knees beside my bed in a nightgown and braids and put my hands together?’ but what I learned is that praying … is asking. Right. Ok, great. I can do that.
The trick is in receiving the ‘answers’. What I’ve learned is that the answer is always given. It might not be in its entirety (still in a one-bedroom apartment instead of a home overlooking the ocean), it may not show up exactly when I want it to or in the form that I ordered it in but it’s always there. The fun part has been really opening my eyes to seeing how Spirit works in my life. Life gets to be like a puzzle with clues. Way more fun.
A recent example for me involved my unique relationship with my computer. I have written about this before, about the fact that my computer ‘speaks’ to me. It plays things for me in often not-so-subtle ways that are generally answers to something I have prayed for.
The latest interaction was a few weeks ago. I had just returned from a week-long ceremony on Salt Spring Island and I was working through the integration process. My computer thought it important that I listen to a talk by Steve Chandler about the difference between expectations and agreements. It played this audio once the first day, twice the second day, and three times on the third day. I did listen to it the first day - but I obviously didn’t get the message I needed because it kept playing. By the third day it was clear to me what I needed to hear and was grateful - and kind of annoyed. I don’t remember asking for that guidance but I’m sure I did somewhere along the way because it showed up big time. It’s perhaps interesting to note that my computer will play things even when the screen is closed - so there’s no avoiding it. I’ve tried.
The next trick to working with prayer is to see. It’s up to you see how life works its magicin your life because it's going to show up in different ways for everyone. Start by asking. And then after a while, take a look at how your life has changed, or what you’ve read lately, or what conversations you’ve overheard, or who is showing up – chances are you’ll see something you hadn’t noticed before that has a direct connection to what you asked for.
One of the most profound answers for me has shown up in the form of an AMAZING life coach. I had been asking (praying – remember, they’re the same) Spirit for help building a thriving healing practice – one that serves me and the people I work with in profound ways. I had been asking about this for years now and still continue to do so. About 8 months ago a good friend emailed me with an invitation to talk to a life coach who specializes in women with client based businesses.
It was months before I signed in to work with her. I almost didn’t on several occasions, and then I put my grown-ass woman pants on and said yes and it’s been exactly what I needed. Like, out of this world amazing. It may seem obvious now but it didn’t dawn on me that this was an answer to my prayers - someone to help me build my business - until much later. I was expecting help to show up in the form of clients but this was so much better.
Trick #3 - saying YES. When you ask for something, make sure you say yes and grab onto it when it shows up in your life! This is sometimes easier said than done. I work with people all the time who are trying to make change in their lives and there are often opportunities everywhere and they’re not taking them, sometimes not even seeing them. The Universe wants us to succeed, to create, to have everything we dream of. There is help everywhere.
To sum up, start asking. Open your awareness to how the answer might show up and say yes when it does.
Happy praying my loves.