by Rev. Janice Cary
“What do God and Prayer have to do with your life?”
When I first started attending a Unity church, I would bring different situations to the minister and he would always say, “Let’s pray and give this to God.” No matter what the situation, this was his response. As I pondered this response in my mind, I thought to myself, “This minister is nice and all, but what do prayer and God have to do with it?”
Dear friends, this is a powerful question to ask yourself. What do prayer and God have to do with your life?
Prayer is the foundation of Unity. It helps us release our concepts of God and invites us to notice the underlying wholeness of life. We believe affirmative prayer, as taught by Jesus, our way-shower, is the way to individual spiritual awakening and transformation.
Our co-founder, Myrtle Fillmore, writes in Healing Letters: “Your frequent crying out for personal help implies lack of faith in God… and tends to break up the spiritual consciousness we are helping you to establish. The secret of our power… lies in our refusing to be moved by the appearances.”
Prayer is not to change God. Prayer refines our perception and deepens our spiritual awareness. As we enter into the silence, a sense of well-being is felt. We are lifted into an experience of oneness where a sense of spaciousness, possibility and calmness arises.
Every Sunday after service, one of our Prayer Chaplains, trained in affirmative prayer, is willing to assist you in creating a safe space, holding the high watch while helping you turn every situation over to God.
Finally, prayer is a time of worship, joy and thanksgiving, realizing we can never be separated from the presence and power of God. Let us: Let go, let God and lie down in green pastures, moving from a sense of fear into a sense of peace, knowing that all of life is a unique yet diverse expression of that One Source we call God.
What do God and Prayer have to do with your life? Everything! Let us know how we may pray with you this day.
To receive one-on-one prayer support right now from Silent Unity, call 816-969-2000 (English) or 816-969-2020 (Spanish). If you have no way to pay for the call, use the toll-free number: 800-669-7729.
An Example of Affirmative Prayer
“Thank you, God, for the ever-present awareness of your love, joy and peace within my heart. Knowing this, I am open to your wisdom and guidance along my path. I now trust all things work for the highest and best as divine order moves in and through my life, reminding me that where I am, God is, and all is well.”
About Prayer
by James Dillet Freeman
“Prayer is a state of being, like snowfall at night. As in the silence of yourself you pray, all things particular, familiar, small or large dissolve and slowly melt away. Only the white perfection of your prayer is there, enveloping all things, until The Oneness of the One is everywhere. Nothing remains the same — only the still, only the peace of being, not so much filling space as obliterating space, an emptiness and allness, like the touch of snowfall then might upon your face. But when your prayer ends and you rise and go, your world shines new around you, like new snow.”
