Audio: Freedom Through Prayer
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“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” Matthew 5:37
This advice from Jesus may not sound too practical when it comes to daily communication. There are many instances where we need to explain why we say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to certain inquiries. Overall communication would be rather boring if all we said was yes or no.
When we think of prayer, however, this makes perfect sense. Let’s say you’re praying for guidance and doubts begin to creep in. In this case you would say ‘no’ to the negative energy that is doubt. You would not allow your emotions to be dominated by visualizations of what you do not want. You would say ‘yes’ to the freeing feelings that you are being guided, that things are working out exactly as they should.
It’s easy to let the mind run wild in times of uncertainty. When we feel as if we know the best answer to our prayer, we can become rigidly bias toward this preference. We’re saying ‘yes’ to that answer, but we’re probably also trying to figure out how to pull the right levers to get the desired outcome. This can drain us of our creative energy. Scattered and stressed in this way, we can see why Jesus would equate this state with evil. The impact of a stress-producing disposition speaks for itself.
We treat prayer as a two-fold process of denial (release) and affirmation, a statement of what is true from the highest level. In our example of guidance, we begin by releasing all negative imagery, emotion and internal chatter that negates our desire. A simple statement will help: I now release all fear, all doubt, all feeling of uncertainty concerning this situation. Take time to allow all negativity to dissipate. Follow your release with a statement like this: The wisdom of God is now revealing the right steps to take. Love dissolves that which is not for my highest good and attracts that which is. Get the feeling that what you say is absolutely true.
As you go throughout your day, make a habit of saying ‘yes’ to your prayer and ‘no’ to any emotion or appearance that would contradict it. Keep your energy directed to trust in God that the best and highest is now working through you and through all concerned.
J Douglas Bottorff 