“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God..."

by Michael Ketterhagen

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depths of our hearts.”

--St Teresa of Calcutta

Ever since my diagnosis with multiple myeloma (a blood cancer), I have been praying intensely for my highest good. I think my highest good is healing and completing four goals that I have on my way to union with my Beloved Divine Mother.

I am realizing, too, that my “dis-ease” is part of my spiritual journey. That means that this “dis-ease” is a beneficent experience, in that it is my spirit’s way of showing me that my spirit and my mind are in conflict with each other, as Edward Bach would say. It is a wake-up call for me so that I can develop the qualities and characteristics of a truly divine being, made in the image and likeness of God. I get to deal with, quite directly, my “faults” in this life.

I am learning that my mind is fighting with my spirit. There is something or there are some things that my mind is thinking and deciding to do that is not consistent with God’s purpose for me in this life.

That means, as Teresa of Calcutta infers, prayer is effective, not when asking for anything, but when there is one action that we must take; namely, surrender to the will of God. To do that I must think differently so that I can act differently. I must “put myself in the hands of God” and do whatever the Divine in me is asking.

Therefore, all my petitions are useless unless I transform my thinking to coincide with the way the Divine Mother (God) has chosen for me. This is called “God-consciousness.”

Yoga says that there are four thought-patterns (samskaras) that need to be practiced every day (YS 1.33); namely,

Friendliness towards those who are happy. I need to eliminate thoughts of animosity towards those who are enjoying themselves in their life. Sometimes I feel animosity towards those that seem to value the things that I don’t and are really happy about it.

Compassion towards the poor, miserable, and helpless. This means cruel acts toward those who are suffering or in need, not realizing that they are one with me because all of life is one. Thinking dominating thoughts toward those in need violates the reality of Unity because God is one and we are all created by that one God.

Happiness towards the virtuous. Jealous thoughts must end. Happy thoughts make for a happy mind and develops the ability “to see and relate to others’ pain while remaining unaffected.” (Tigunait, YS 1.33 commentary)

Non-judgment towards the non-virtuous. I need to change my attitude of self-righteousness towards those who would be considered “sinners”. I often think that I am a “good” person, better than people that I consider “bad.” God does not “think” that way. Consciousness (another way of labeling the Source of Life) “rains on the good and the bad” equally. Often, I have given into society’s condemning attitude towards others based on my “pious beliefs” and therefore judge that they are not doing the will of God.

So, prayer means not asking God for healing, but it means thinking in the way that God “thinks.” It means acting in a “God-conscious” way.

This sounds difficult to do, but yoga gives us some practices that help us change our thinking so that we can act without animosity, cruelty, jealousy, and self-righteousness. It is called “Vishoka Meditation,” which comes from the Buddha’s “Lotus Sutra.”

More on this next blog!

Namaste’