Infinite Way Tape Transcript Excerpts

Excerpt from 1951 Second Portland Series - Self Government of Organs, Function, Food - Master #605 - Tape 5 - Side 2

In this form of prayer I do not go to God to have certain things brought about for tomorrow or for Thanksgiving or for Christmas. I don't do that. I go to God in this way:

"Today, tomorrow, and all time to come, God, belong to Thee. Map out my days."

And then I sit in complete silence -- in complete quietness as if I really and truly had a telephone receiver at my ear and was trying to hear somebody at the other end. It isn't so much that I expect to hear a voice although I sometimes do. It isn't that I expect that. I'm merely taking that attitude as a symbol of receptivity -- just the same as you are sitting here, and if you'll notice this minute you probably have one ear cocked, like this, listening for every word. Now actually you're not too interested whether you hear what I say or not and it isn't too important whether or not you hear what I say. There's no importance in that. The importance is that you sit there with that ear cocked listening because you're not here to hear me at all. That isn't what you came for. You came here to receive the word of God. And it may be that you won't get it from me and that it may not even come through me. But that's not going to be your hard luck. If I don't say a word of truth here tonight it will not effect your demonstration because you haven't come here for me. You haven't come here for my pleasure or my profit. You've come here because of your own interest in truth. And you've come here to hear truth and you're going to hear it. And if it doesn't come through me it's going to come from God direct to you within you. You may be sitting there just straining to hear what I'm saying and actually you may not hear it at all, you may be hearing something entirely different than what I'm saying. You may be hearing God speak right within your own being, because every bit of attention that you're giving to me, you are not giving to me at all. I'm as of little interest to you as any other name or face on the face of the globe. What you're here for is your interest in God, your interest in truth and that can't be withheld from you. That's what you came here for. That's what you gave up your time for. That's what you gave up your money and expense for, was to get a message of God and your receptivity is going to bring it to you, and if it doesn't come through my lips it's going to come direct within your own Consciousness, or on the other hand if it does come through my lips it won't miss you, you will get it.

Now in the same way -- the same attitude that you have in coming here and listening -- that same degree of silence and quietness that we have in this room all evening -- that is the same attitude of peace and quietness when you're alone in what we will call prayer. Because I want you to know this -- that what you are doing here and have been doing ever since I have spoken -- you have been praying in my concept of prayer. You haven't been saying a thing to me or to God but you have been listening for the word of truth. And that's prayer. You have been listening for the still small voice and that is prayer. You have been holding yourself receptive to truth, and truth is a synonym for God, therefore you have been holding yourself receptive to God. And that is prayer.

Now this is the highest form of prayer that you can possibly indulge is communion with God, listening for the still small voice, opening consciousness to truth. There's no higher form of prayer than that. That is communion. The mere fact that I am standing here talking doesn't alter the case at all that what you are doing is praying. And if you get an answer to your prayer through what I'm saying it isn't because of me, it's because you've opened your ears to God and God is using my voice with which to answer. But on the other hand if there should be a little obstinancy in me or a little ego in me and God can't break through me to reach you it doesn't mean your time is going to be wasted. You have come here for a message of truth. You have turned your consciousness to God and you will not go out of here without it.

Now you can sit down in your own room and attain the same degree of receptivity you have here, only instead of expecting a voice to come back at you as you're getting from here you will expect merely that God will answer in one way or another. It may be through a voice, it may be through a feeling, it may be through an emotion, it may be through a vision, or and this happens many many times -- you may get it without knowing that you've gotten it. In other words, you may get up and say, "Well, nothing happened." But don't be too sure of it. You never know what happens when you open yourself in receptivity to God. You don't always know at that moment but you will know it by the effect in your life. You'll know it by some healing, some increase of supply, some increase of harmony, opportunity. Some form of good will be made manifest in your experience and then you'll remember that that was an answer to prayer that you had been hoping or praying for some such good or thinking about it or knowing that it was right. And now it's here. Now it wasn't your desiring that brought it and it wasn't your wish that you could have it that brought it, it was your prayer. And your prayer was merely opening your consciousness for the word of God.

Remember that the word of God is quick and sharp and powerful. Do you remember that in scripture? And do you remember also that your thoughts are not my thoughts. And my thoughts are not your thoughts saith the Lord. There aren't any of your thoughts that have anything to do with God. It's God's thoughts that determine. And so we are not interested when we go to God in what you or I think. We're not interested even in what we believe or what we hope or what we wish or what we desire, and I don't think God's very much interested either. Because probably we'd get more of the things that we hoped for even though sometimes we'd be sorry for it afterward.

Let us realize this -- true prayer is always answered. If you pray and you're prayer is not answered it's because you've prayed amiss. It hasn't been prayer at all no matter what you may have thought it to be. Because true prayer is answered. Now true prayer is the ability to receive the presence and power of God. That's true prayer. When you can at will open yourself to the presence and power of God and let it take over, then you are praying aright.

That form of prayer brings you ultimately to a place referred to by Paul in these words, "I live yet not I, Christ liveth in me." When you come to a place of prayer which is a state of receptivity in which you have no desires, no wants, no hopes, except that God really fulfill Itself in your experience. Remember, "I am come that you might be fulfilled." Once you let that "I" get in, that God, that presence of God, that divine consciousness -- It takes over and It fulfills your life.


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