Art of praying and Trust-Part2
Extracted from the speech session of Master Elia(s) about Praying and Trust.
(PART 2)
What are the rules of praying? Is really praying useful for us and my explanations in this regard is important? I already said that praying can open those locks. What else it can do? If we talk about the worshiping God, we have to concentrate on this critical issue that God stated “praying is the soul of worshiping”. The spirit of glorifying God is praying. Worshiping is like a shell and praying is like a pearl embedded deep inside of it. Praying is like a chain, like a rope. Two person grab and hold each end of it. Any time one prays the one who holds the other end pulls the rope. I mean, when I pray and ask something from God, while God grants my wish, God pulls me one more step toward God’s presence. Do you understand the point?
For instance, you ask me to give you this flower; I will give it to you. Pay attention what is happening now. You ask me to give you this glass of water, and I hand over it to you. You ask me to give you this watch, and I hand over it you too. At the meanwhile, you are having eye contact with me, and then I keep my hand toward myself more. First, I bring my hand toward you and try to reach you. You ask me to hand over the flower to you. I bring my hand toward you fully to make sure to hand over the flower to you completely.
Next, you ask me the watch, (I am talking about the reactions, the mechanism used by God), at the second time when you ask for watch, I will not bring my hand fully toward you; this will make you to get closer to me one more step while you are staring at me; then you ask me to give you the glass of water. I pull my hand toward myself more; then, you have to come forward two more steps and you will get the glass eventually. All of a sudden, you realize that the God that you are at his presence all the time is more precious than those materials that you are asking for. First, our eyes were locked; they were not able to observe anything. We were just full of nonsense words. We had no understanding, no perception, and no connection with God, because everything was locked. Now our eyes got opened. Now we don’t ask about this watch, we ask about God himself. Now we not only can see, but also we can stare at God as well. We are at his presence now. You get very close so you can throw every other thing away. You say no, I want only and only you. That is why God called the pray the soul of worship; because, it brings you to him directly. It brings you right back inside of the presence of God.
Pray, what is pray? I am going to tell you something that you have never heard from anybody else before. Praying is something that you don’t want it; but instead God wants it for you. So far, the definition of praying was the things that you wish for it and ask from God. But I say this is not correct. If it was suppose to define the praying that way, so God has sworn to grant all prays; but why it is not that way? Apparently God grants some wishes. Pray is the thing that God wants from you; because God says “I grant whatever I feel to grant”. God doesn’t say “I feel”; but we interpret this way. Whenever he wants to give you something, he let you to pray for it; he opens the door and gives the permission to ask him for. So, it is what he wants for me.
Praying is my request from the God who is Alive. It is my request from the GOD who is Alive’ not the DEAD GOD. Most of the people worship a DEAD GOD, a DETERIORATED GOD. It is an idol, it is a piece of stone, and it is a mental imagination which can’t do anything. Alive God respond to all prays. God is alive and everlasting. Only an Alive God is able to respond to prays not the Dead God. The imagination that I keep in my mind is an image of a dead God who is not capable to do anything even cannot move himself.
I explained earlier, people in ancient times used to make different idols from wood and stone. Now days, we make fun of them, and refer them as stupid people. But now days, people do the same thing but in more modern ways; by using mental images and interpretations; by their own judgments. Back then they used to make an idol from wood, now they make mental image, or making dreams about God. The old idol was not able to do anything, and this dead images cannot do anything either. God is the only one who has been alive ever since and who is going to be alive for since after. God is the only one, the only one who is alive, who is responding to everything. God is responsible for everything that I ask for. Look, when a mother has a baby she is responsible to provide everything for her baby. Father must provide materials for the baby as well.
God must provide everything for his creatures too; the creatures that God has created himself. God does not need us to remind him, he knows better, since he told Adam “I made this as an obligatory duty to respond and grant whatever my creatures ask from me”. But asking from whom? God says asking from Him. God does not say asking from this person or that person. Therefore, whatever you ask from Alive God, not from the dead God and not from the unreal and imaginary things’ will be granted. Any wishes that people ask from the God who is alive are praying; and definitely will be granted. When? Not in 40 years or less than that but right now and at once will be granted.
It does not matter what type of wish it is, for instance you want to be the ruler of the whole world, or if you wish to have the Milky Way in your pocket or you just ask for a small flower. No matter what, all can be granted. God is the infinite power, and all requests can be answered by him. The first thing to remember during praying is that “God is present and everlasting, God responds, is our master”; therefore, God is obligated to answer our requests. For instance, if parents complain about their kids, someone may tell them “OK, you should have think twice before making a decision to have kids, now you are responsible”. The same comment applies for God too; you have created all creatures, now you are responsible for all requests that they make. But the point is God never had waited for us to remind him; God has stated already that “I grant all your requests even before you ask for them”.
What are the rules of praying? First let me explain what the foundation part of praying is. First we need to put all pieces of puzzle together to make sure not accusing God. God has promised to grants all wishes, any wishes. But what we see in our life is that some of our requests are denied, why some people pray but their wishes will not be granted? Is it possible that some sorts of wishes don’t go through?
My answer is “NO” and I guarantee it. If someone claims that he already prayed and his wish is not been granted; I take all of you as witness here, if this person approaches me I will give him whatever he wants in his life. I will make him the richest person in entire world; if he proves it that he really made a wish and it have not got granted; in this case, I will be his follower. Because, by this claim all of my strong beliefs will vanish; therefore, I have to follow this person anyway. When I become his follower, then I have to do whatever he wants; and because I can do so many things, so I will use my power for whatever he wishes.
Praying means having a direct connection with God who is alive (I mean, I bring my wish at God’s presence; then, I ask him to give me something, and God says “NO”). In this case, God is not the most compassionate and merciful. By breaking this law, God can’t be our God anymore; thus, God will grant all wishes.
But how we should pray? I already talked about 7 ways of praying. First, I have a strong faith on God, so I can pray by relying on my faith. I have strong faith, my heart is full of peace; therefore, what I ask from God is based on my strong faith. This is called Faithful Praying. But, not all people have this kind of faith. If I have this type of faith; I mean, if I have a faith that whatever I ask from God it can be granted; if I have a trust upon my God; this will be my best asset to ask for my wish by relying on it. But, not all of us have this type of faith on God. I just need a very small and tiny piece of this kind of faith. Jesus Christ says: ” we only need a piece of faith as small as mustard seed.”
Once, someone told Prophet Mohammad that one of Jesus Christ’s followers used to walk on the surface of water; Prophet Mohammad told him “if he had more faith, he was able to walk on the air”. Therefore, based on the level of my faith upon God, my requests will be granted by God.
Pay attention, so why God doesn’t grant our wishes? The reason is that my voice doesn’t reach the God. It gets there I mean, but God don’t listen to it. What makes my voice to reach him better? The answer is Harmony. What is Harmony? Look, God is the only one; so only a person can make a true wish that is able to make it through the unitary path. When I ask my wishes only and only from God, then it will be granted. No matter what kind of wish it is. Whether it is; it can be something extraordinary or flying in the air, or getting disappeared while I am sitting here, or something very simple or ordinary. If only have one request, what is going to happen? I have a strong faith upon God, he is the only one. God says if you ask only from me I will grant it. Let’s see how.
For instance, I ask God, now, right now, cure this illness of mine, cure my disease. Then, I have a doubt in my heart, I think “ No, God will not listen to me; this is an extraordinary phenomenon, it needs prophets to do miracles to cure this type of disease of mine, it is not going to happen for me”. By this, I am accusing God of not being able to grant my wish. I ask him clearly to grant my wish and cure my illness, but in the other hand, I contradict my wish and ask God not to cure my disease.