There is only one way to make spiritual progress, and that is to practice the Presence of God. Mankind is continually seeking to discover a shortcut but as usual the lazy man takes the most pains in the long run, and having wasted his time in wandering up bypaths, he is ultimately driven by failure and suffering to the realization of the grand truth that there is no substitute for prayer; that is, the conscious dwelling upon the Being of God.
If your intuitive nature is well developed, you will seldom need to use formal statements at all. This is excellent – for who will trouble to climb a ladder when he is strong enough to leap over the wall?
But it must not be overlooked that very many people do all their work with formal statements of Truth, and get consistently good results by working in this way. Not through repeating affirmations like a parrot. Those who work like a parrot inevitably make the parrot’s demonstration – they remain in the cage. Of a good worker who used the same phrases many times it was said by a friend: “He constantly uses the old affirmations, but he stuffs them with fresh feeling every time.”
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth (Psalm 145:18).
Prayer requires no pre-conditions. One does not have to “know how to pray”, feel God’s presence, be a church member, be educated in the scriptures or even be baptized, to pray and to believe in God. All one has to do is reach out to God (thereby affirming his existence), ask for God’s will to be done in one’s life and then act as if one’s prayer has been answered. Acting as if one’s prayers are being answered does require following God’s will in our thoughts, word and deeds.
This does not mean one has to be perfect or free from temptation. It does mean one has to reject temptation and negative behavior and when one succumbs to it, to repent and ask for forgiveness to start anew. This is commonly referred to as a leap of faith. Faith is the belief in things unseen. And though one may not see a burning bush or the parting of the sea, one will experience God’s presence in their lives and will see God’s hand at work in their lives. These manifestations of God will move us toward peace, joy and gladness so we can live a fulfilled existence in the Eden God created for us.
Praying in peace,
Z gardener
Author’s note – Today a new friend joins us in the Good Morning Garden. He is a very special and gentle spirit who occupies a beautiful place in the hearts of many. He is facing a life-threatening illness and needs our loving prayers and supplications. Please ask God that it be God’s will that he receive the miracle of God’s healing presence, and that he walk with God in peace, comfort, courage and hope. Thank you in advance for keeping this precious one in your prayers.
Z
Good Morning Garden 
Thanks for the article, and the sentiment. I agree and sometimes have looked at prayer almost scientifically, as if it creates a vibration or energy and from that, attracts that which is prayed for. I imagine God as an energy and not as an operator on a switchboard answering calls. I think the energy that is God answers the vibration with its likeness
Thank you for the insightful response. It is the author’s prayer that the Good Morning Garden will be as much of a blessing to all who enter, as it is for the author. It is the author’s opinion that prayer attunes us to God’s energy like a radio receiver tuned to the right station. It is also the author’s belief that one day we will all understand that science and religion both affirm the same truths. Our knowledge of the nature and characteristics of quantum physics and black holes points in that direction now. Until the full truth is revealed to us, we can continue to commune with God in the natural world as a beautiful creation given to us as an Eden in which we can live in peace, joy and hope.
Z gardener
Good morning Garden. I like the concept, the light breaking forth into the shaded woods, the insight of this post. I like it!
Thank you for the kind response. The concept is to create a space in time in which we may attune to the wonderful truth that God gave us a beautiful garden (Eden) in which to live, and that we can go there any time if we are willing to follow God’s will. It is a wonderful way to start each day and it is the author’s prayer that each visitor will find their own garden filled with God’s blessings of joy, gladness and peace.
Z