UNITY WAY

May 30, 2004

------------------------------------------------------

The Art of Prayer: The Plan

by Andrei Yashurin

The next phrase of the Lord's Prayer, "Your will be done", 
brings us to another important point of our consideration. 
We are to know and to fulfill God's plan.

Among the believers, there were always many speculations 
concerning the will of God: what it is, and how it is to be 
brought into the manifestation. But answers to those 
questions are not as difficult as they sometimes seems to be. 

The subject of God's will makes some people nervous and tense. 
In their hearts, they have a deep-seated feeling that they 
are missing something of what they should do, and therefore, 
deserve God's punishment. This is a sure indication that they 
lack the true understanding of God's nature. It is essential 
to know that God does not punish anyone. We can rest assured 
in the arms of the Divine Love, knowing that the Supreme 
Power and Intelligence are on our side. They are not against 
us in any way.

Even if our path seem to be uncertain, we may still trust 
in His guidance. We may affirm:

"God gently leads me to the right way. I am directed to 
the perfect knowledge and fulfillment of God's will".  

Then, some people unconsciously resent the will of God. Their 
notion is that it is something painful and unpleasant. They've 
seen certain believers that ruined their lives and lives of 
many others in the name of God's will, so they do not want 
anything of this kind for themselves. But there is a great 
difference between God's will and human concepts of what it is. 

There is a place for pain in the spiritual growth, but it is 
a pain of re-adjustment. Changing of our wrong habits of 
thinking and living takes time and deliberate, persistent 
efforts. However, the end proves to be the most pleasing 
and rewarding. We bring ourselves into harmony with Life 
and reap fruits of happiness, wholeness, and generous supply. 

Knowing this, we may declare: "The will of God for me is 
the supreme good. The will of God for me is more abundant life". 

The other common mistake of believers is listening to others 
and looking upon others for guidance. When a person feels 
inferior compared to self-appointed "spiritual giants" 
or "authorities", there comes a temptation to imitate them, 
or to submit to their rule. But this course of action results 
in betrayal of our uniqueness.   

Realization of the will of God is an inside job. Nobody can 
do it for us. Even the smartest genius in the world cannot 
think our thoughts and live our life for us. We are responsible 
to do it ourselves, no matter how inadequate we may feel at 
times. But, making a step into the right direction, we  discover 
that the next step becomes easier. All our talents can and 
should grow. 

We may walk forward just one step at the time, but this is 
exactly what God expects of us. Don't be anxious. Anxiety 
often leads to rush and unwise actions. It also makes us think 
that our place is not here and now, but somewhere else. In 
the ultimate sense, this may be true. But this moment and 
this place in our life are important. We've been brought 
here in the course of events for a definite reason: to learn 
our lessons and to develop our gifts for future use.

Anxiety makes us blind to immediate possibilities. Strange 
but true, anxiety about the will of God prevents us from 
knowing it and fulfilling it.     

To put it briefly, the plan of God for every individual is 
to be transformed into His likeness and to express divine 
qualities through creative acts. There are different ways 
of expression for different people, including ourselves. 
We may stay confident that we'll find our way as long as 
we search for it.

"Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; 
knock and it shall be opened to you". 

------------------------------------------------------

Andrei Yashurin: pczine@yandex.ru

If you like our list, please recommend it to others.

All messages (c) 2004 by Andrei Yashurin