Positive Spirituality

 

PRAYER IS A COSMIC THRESHOLD

By Rev. Dr. Arthur Chang

 

Imagine entering your Consciousness Station, the ubiquitous center of the universe to be empowered and refreshed. That is what prayer does for you. This reestablishes our affirmative relationship with God, especially after the stresses of life tend to wear us down. Observing electric cars at charging stations or our dinosaur gasoline cars filling up at gas stations, should remind us that we, too, need to fill up at our Consciousness Station. As an energy fill-up empowers a car, so does a consciousness fill-up empower our creativity, resilience and compassion for our chosen mission. Does the Sun not provides its life-giving energy to our world? Similarly, does the Invisible Presence provide the consciousness for us to participate fully in our lives.

 

The key to our effective participation is to realize we are living in a process-relational world where everything is related to everything else. This includes the Infinite Source. Our engines of consciousness can demand more energy to achieve seemingly miraculous results. Everything we desire to create will be from our empowered consciousness. Recognizing our enormous creative power inspired the priestly writer of Genesis 1 to declare that God made humans in his image and likeness. This was the genius behind our godlike action of being fruitful and abundant and having dominion to create our lives. On a secular level, William James said of this consciousness or attitude,

One of the greatest discoveries of my generation is that a man (male and female) can change his attitude and change his life,”

 

James’ offered the secular version of prayer. However, the spiritually brilliant Hebrew prophet, Isaiah, gave the more traditional version of prayer in saying,

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11) 

 

The words of James and Isaiah, and the priestly writer of Genesis 1, revealed the creative consciousness accessible through prayer. The astonishing achievements of our civilization are evidence of our evolution of consciousness.

 

Alfred North Whitehead, process philosopher, speaks of two fundamental aspects of process, “concrescence” and “transition.” This means things come into being and perish. They materialize and then transition into the future for the next manifestation. This is process or reality. Isaiah’s “Word” is like the transitional power of prayer. It is like our expressed idea or an architect’s plan, or a musician’s sequence of sounds, or our affirmation of our better health. The Gospel of John says, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” However, quantumly, this is not a onetime event, but is forever occurring. William James saw this as desirable change. Prayer can direct process or creativity. This is why Isaiah knows his word will result in a demonstration or concrescence. There are great similarities among these thinkers.

 

Prayer, however, works with immutable universal principles. Consciousness must include knowledge of principles and feelings, which our beliefs become. Principles are of science and feelings are of the mind. They form the consciousness for our demonstration.

 

Creativity to life is fundamental and creativity breaks out where prayer rings the bell of the Cosmic Source. Jesus’ expression of our consciousness from the Source was, “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Here, Process Theology says that the Infinite is forever putting options before you for your choice.

 

The first choice is to let your prayer bring you to your Cosmic Home to recharge your consciousness for the work at hand. After your prayer rings the bell, you will be able to enjoy leaving your doubt and stresses behind so that you can be filled with the consciousness to achieve.

 

Cross this Cosmic Threshold into your greater becoming by means of your prayer!