Spiritual Solutions

In praying for oneself or another, first there is the awareness of a need. Not a sense of lack that implies a limitation, but the concern of a need and the concern of its fulfillment. The concern you may have over someone you love or about conditions in general is a step in the direction of demonstration, but we cannot stop with concern alone or else we settle into the dead-end street of worry and despair.

If you are concerned about another, nothing can be accomplished in prayer until we overcome this concern. Whatever or whoever you are praying for, remember this first step. Lay aside your concern and dwell in the consciousness of your Oneness. It is your attunement with power. Then you are ready to pray.

The next logical step is faith in and awareness of the principle. First the concern, or the awareness of the need, then the healing of the concern, or the awareness of God’s all-sufficiency in all things. The thing for us to do is to realize the Truth of the promise, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.” (Ps. 138:8)

By nature the average person is concerned about the health or the welfare of those about him or her. The most helpful step that we can take, in the interest of that with which we are concerned, is the step in faith from the thought of concern to the dynamic idea of Truth.

You can pray about the situation and pray for the welfare of the one who concerns you, but your prayer must be based on right thinking and right seeing. To hold the problem in negative thought or to see it in anxious concern is, as Paul would say, seeing “in a mirror dimly.”

The most helpful thing you can do for another, regardless of his or her need, is to think positive thoughts about the person. Positive thinking might actually be a synonym for prayer. You may define prayer in many ways but essentially it is the act of changing our thought from the limited to the limitless. “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind,” we have been told in Romans 12:2 and this must be the starting point of all effective prayer.

Certainly, almost unbelievable, wonderful demonstrations of health and guidance and success through prayer can be observed all the time. However, we must clearly understand that prayer is not begging God to do something for someone or something that concerns us. When you pray about something, if there is any action as a result of prayer, you help in the action. But God can do no more for you than God can do through you. You are a channel for the expression of His wisdom, love, substance and power.

Often we are urged, “Let go and let God.” This means to let go of your tense, anxious concern over a situation and let God express His omnipresence through your positive awareness. True prayer is the stirring up within you a sense of God-power and turning the full force of this power, like a powerful searchlight, on that which may concern you.

When you desire to help someone else, the starting point of that help must be within yourself. You may say, “But it’s my husband (or wife, or friend, etc.) who needs help.” Yes, but it is you who are concerned and, as long as you feel anxious concern, you are giving life and substance to that about which you are concerned.

Your thought of fear, your image of some terrible possibility, or your gnawing anxiety is really a very powerful and continuing prayer in reverse. No matter how great may be your desire to help or bless someone or some condition, your negative concern may effectively completely negate your successful wish and prayer for healing.

No matter what you may be concerned about in the life or experience of another, if you really want to help, you must change your thought from fear to faith; you must correct your faulty vision in which you are focusing your attention on that which is disturbing. You must heal your thought of concern.

When you feel a release, a sense of freedom from fear and concern, then the work within you is done. At that point, in the consciousness and with a positive declaration of Truth, speak the word of healing, harmony and peace, and know that “it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Is. 55:11) It is in this way that you fulfill the assurance which is “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.”

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over forty years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com
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Kahlil Gibran, in his book The Prophet, says, “What is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether.” In other words, prayer is a matter of conditioning our minds to God rather than conditioning God to our needs; it has to do with opening our lives to God, with the expansion of our consciousness.

Eric Butterworth suggests that if you owned a cabin in the mountains and wanted to make it fresh and habitable after a long winter, you wouldn’t have to induce the air in through the doors, or plead with the sunlight to bathe the windows. No, the instant you open the doors and windows, air and sunshine surge in of their own accord. Similarly, prayer is simply opening our lives, so that we may receive whatever God has been trying to bestow. It is conditioning our lives to God.

Jesus says, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matt. 6:8) You may say, “So why ask?” Simply because the doors and windows of your soul tend of themselves to close tightly, barring out the help and inspiration of God, that which God is seeking to impart. So you could say that prayer is to our lives what air-conditioning is to the home, it provides us with freshness and emotional humidity and temperature.

The prime purpose of prayer is to recreate our sense of oneness with God, to expand our consciousness beyond our limited horizon of thought and thus to realize who and what we are.

And startling as it may seem, God does not have what you want. God is what you want; God is the answer. Let your prayer be to claim your spiritual unity with God, and remind yourself that you are His child; get into the self-livingness of this divine process and one with the life and substance which is.

Stop thinking how poor, how sick, how inadequate you are, and remember how wonderful you are. You might even affirm, “I am a wonderful child of God, wonderfully created and wonderfully sustained.” The ancient Sanskrit root word from which our word “prayer” is derived is the word “paloa,” which means literally, “judging oneself to be wondrously made.” Prayer is not what you do to God, but of what you do to yourself, changing your conception about yourself, opening the windows and doors of your soul, letting the light of Spirit flow through you and in you to work its healing and prospering power.

Prayer readies your heart and mind to receive and respond to the activity of the Holy Spirit or the whole Spirit of God within you. It is the affirmative acceptance of the greater good.

So much of prayer has been supplication, begging, petitioning. This implies a primitive concept of God. It makes the assumption that God withholds from some while giving to others. It implies that God can be argued with, bargained with, and reasoned with, that He is impressed with human opinion, that He can be coerced.

Jesus had tremendous power because he always worked in harmony with the indwelling presence of God; his mind and heart were conditioned to let the infinite condition express. Jesus accepted the divine law as the law of his life; he freely used it by speaking the affirmative word. Jesus said, “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32), and he had no doubts about the divine will to heal and to prosper. He spoke the affirmative word and accepted the positive answer even before it manifested; he prayed the prayer of affirmation, of mind-conditioning.

We get into a negative or “no” consciousness in which we inhibit the expression of the perfect life and intelligence of Spirit. The affirmation conditions the mind to God-consciousness; it renders us to the activity of God that is ever in us, that ever seeks to lead us to our highest good. An affirmation is saying “yes!” Yes, to health; yes, to prosperity; yes, to harmony. It is giving conscious consent to the great affirmative; God’s ceaseless longing to perfect Himself through His creation.

No matter what the difficulty, as Jesus says, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24) What is right judgment? Emerson answers this in his definition of prayer, “The contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view.” No matter what the appearance may be, you can identify with the “I am” at the center of your being. Take the highest thought possible, which is “I am whole, a perfect child of God. I am right now one with God, one with life, one with intelligence, one with supply.” The prayer is to know this, not to tell God to do something, but to know the Truth about yourself and to condition your mind and every fiber of your being to respond to it.

The idea is to evoke the feeling of being or having that which you want or need. Remember, Jesus says, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24) He is saying that you should believe that you see it even before you have it, so that then you will receive. This may seem strange at first, but it is a fundamental law. Through prayer, condition your mind with that feeling, and good thoughts will come forth.

Unless prayer gives you the feeling of health, prosperity, and harmony, then it really hasn’t succeeded. So prayer must involve the stimulation of the feelings. It is “the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” as far as health is concerned, for example, but you must accept it, you must believe it; you must feel your oneness with it. Act as if it were already true and thus your conditioning of mind through prayer breaks down the self-doubt and limitation and false ego, and lets that perfect healing light shine in and through you.

Accept the idea for you that God is the answer, that God is your life, your support, your security, and prepare yourself by opening your mind and heart, conditioning yourself for life through prayer.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at www.alanrowbotham.com

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Today, Sunday, April 3, is the fourth Sunday in Lent. Lent is the period of time during which we can prepare ourselves for the Easter experience.
 
Here is the message for the fourth Sunday in Lent:
 
 
The Sabbath
 
The Sabbath is the “resting in the Lord,” the time of release and rest while God accomplishes through us His perfect work.
 
Most prayers are lost, unanswered, because we do not keep the Sabbath day holy (whole). Day means a time. When we pray, establishing our oneness with the Power of God within us and everywhere present, then we should relax, rest, until God does His perfect work.
 
As a rule we get up from prayer and meditation and, of ourselves, we try to answer our own prayer. We rush here and there to find people or money or some outer power to fulfill our need.
 
It may be that in such rushing around we get a partial answer to our prayer, but this is not the completion of God and we will find many of our efforts frustrated in the outer world. Most prayers are unanswered because of the prying outer mind of man.
 
Every day is the Sabbath day, so let us learn to keep the High Watch with our good. People of the past have believed this meant physical rest, not touching nor doing any outer labor. But it means much more than this. “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.” (Jesus)
 
The Sabbath is part of the individual’s unfoldment. We learn to wait, to silence fears and doubts. We come to a place where we fulfill the following directions: “I pray, I wait, I clear my mind and God does the work.”
 
True Sabbath consciousness is to have fulfilled the Divine Law in both thought and action. This of course includes inner peace, mental relaxation, and outer physical rest which is a great restorative. Recreation is to re-create, change. Let us “cast our burden” of the personal and the outer.
 
We do not own one paltry thing, no matter how much we have collected and saved. The only treasures are days lived; everything else is a universal loan. Our greatest burden is that we need something; our greatest freedom is to know we have it.
 
 
(This series of Lenten messages was first developed by Unity minister Dr. Sue Sikking, founder of Unity-by-the-Sea, Santa Monica, California, author of God Always Says Yes and Seed of the New Age.)
 
 
God is Blessing You, Right Now!
 
Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
 
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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-nine years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com
 
To subscribe for free weekday inspirational quotes, Rich Words, go to www.alanrowbotham.com
 
Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.
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Do you yearn to have a happy and fulfilling new year? Do you desire better things? In a sense, this is proof positive that you most certainly can have that better year. “Desire, or hope,” as Emerson puts it, “is the beginning of its own fulfillment.” That is why we are told, “Before they call I will answer” (Isa. 65:24).  Your very desire to find help, even before you formulate it into a full-blown request, is God’s answer pressing itself out into visibility. As Emilie Cady says, “Desire in the heart is always God tapping at the door of your consciousness with His infinite supply.” But she adds this caveat: “A supply that is forever useless unless there is a demand for it.”

We are forever looking at the circumference of life for that which can only be found in ourselves. You may have already set New Year resolutions and outer goals for 2011. But the great need is to find our oneness, to find a sense of self-realization of inner security, of the “peace that passes all understanding.” The happy new year that we all wish for, and that we wish for one another, and hope will manifest for the world, may well depend upon the degree to which we can follow the guidance of the apostle Paul, “Awake thou that sleepeth, that Christ may shine upon you.” The key is in prayer or meditation.

It was Emerson who said, “Prayer is a study of truth; a sally of the soul into the unfound infinite.” The problem is that we have been taught that we begin with emptiness, and we go forth into the world to find fulfillment. Hence, we are always attempting to find out there that which fulfills us in here. We remember that Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matt. 7:7) But there is obviously much more than is generally realized to the word “ask.”

Without verbalizing, we ask for many things, good and not-so-good. For example, we ask for affection of family and friends simply by giving love; in other words, asking as though we fully expected our love to be requited in kind. We ask for success through our industry and our practice of personal responsibility; we ask for trouble and rejection through our doubts and slovenliness. In our trust and willingness to give aid, we are asking for friends, whereas in our fault-finding and suspicion we are asking for loneliness.

In prayer, asking deals with creating the consciousness, the mental receptivity which makes the results inevitable. You ask God for what you want by getting into the spirit. It is not something God has to do for you; it is what you must do for yourself in order to enable this divine process to do through you and as you that which it is the “ceaseless longing of the Creator to do.”

That is why Jesus would say, “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12:32). We may offer conventional prayer for the good we desire, and at the same time be busily expecting through our doubts and fears something quite different. If only we would remind ourselves that our prayers are for the alteration of our consciousness, we would find ourselves pointed in the right direction.

Therefore when in need, we would ask God for guidance and help by placing ourselves in a position to receive; we would work toward that position in consciousness by affirming the truth, declaring that which we desire as already being real right now; give thanks that you have (rather than “will have”) the desires of your heart. As Jesus says, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mk. 11:24).

So, affirm the truth, speak the word, and thus get yourself into the spirit and create the condition, the channel, the conduit, through which God’s answer can flow into manifestation. So, whatever you want, ask for it, but ask in the consciousness that creates the conditions that make the results inevitable. Ask in your emotions, in your actions, in your spirit, in affirmation and in the spoken word of truth.

To achieve what you hope and pray for, the need is not to change anything but rather to change the way in which you have been seeing things. Examine the way in which you have been accepting yourself. Suddenly realize that you are what you want to be. You are a successful, harmonious, happy whole creature.

Move forward into the New Year with confidence, with faith, and seek to live the life you have imagined. Release the potential within you, and you will find an entirely new experience. You will have a different consciousness; you will make the very most of all experiences that come, in terms of releasing your own potentiality. And it’s very likely that you will have the best year of your life.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at
www.alanrowbotham.com

Special thanks to those of you who have sent tithes or love offerings for “Spiritual Solutions.” I am very grateful for your generosity.
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This article, Praying for Others, is one that I wrote and published on my blog in March, 2008, as part of a series on Prayer, but I thought it worth reviving and revising a little to bring it to you again for your consideration:

Sometimes we are inclined to try to change one another. We want the other person to become what we would like them to be. We even do that in prayer too. We want to change the other person, to give them our wisdom, and to have them to see it our way.

Whenever I pray for other people, I notice that when a change occurs in me then a change often occurs in the situation I’m praying about. If we are to pray for others we must first pray for ourselves, putting ourselves consciously in God’s presence. When we make that contact within ourselves, within our own hearts, then the situations in our lives are affected in positive ways.

There’s a wonderful story that’s told in three of the gospels. It’s the story about a woman who came pushing through the crowd toward Jesus just to touch the hem of his garment.

Given the crowd around Jesus, many people must have touched him; but he felt the woman’s touch and turned around. He said, “Who touched me?” The woman hid at first; they couldn’t find her. Then she came forward and he told her, “Your faith has made you whole!”

Until that woman touched him Jesus hadn’t been aware of her. He was focused on the consciousness of God’s presence. And out of that consciousness the power came through him to bring about healing in the woman who touched him.

He was a conduit, or contact, for healing.

When we pray for ourselves and feel our oneness with God, we too can be that kind of contact for someone. But the first thing is to pray for ourselves, to put ourselves in a consciousness of God.

Our purpose in prayer is to unify ourselves with God, to become one with God. Then we can be a conduit or contact for others as well. Imagine a wire, a light, and the power. We are like the wire. The wire cannot do anything of itself but it is the contact for the power to come through to bring the light. So my work, and yours, as the “wire,” is to seek to know God’s presence.

As I make that contact, then the power flows through me to bring light into my world, into the situations in my life, and into the lives of others for whom I pray. And those who are in contact with me are touched by the light.

I must first be in a consciousness of oneness with God before any effect is felt, before any power is transferred through me. It is not through the power of my thinking, because there is no power in my thinking; the power is the power of God.

People often talk about how we influence others by our thoughts, and in prayer they try “to send” their thoughts to others. That is a wrong concept of the role of thought, especially the role of thought in prayer. We do not “send” our thoughts to others; there is no power in our thoughts that we send to others to try to influence them.

The power is the power of God; that’s the only thing that can bring about change. Our work in the role of thought is to get ourselves in the right consciousness, in the right place; to elevate our thoughts first. Then we are able to enfold those for whom we pray in the realization of God’s presence.

There is a role of thought, that is for sure, but it is for us to bring about change in ourselves.

Whenever the “hem of the garment” has been touched, whenever that contact has been made, then we know. It is as though God leaves His footprint, and flowers spring up. Someone is healed, or a situation changes, or a poem is written, or a new insight comes. It comes out of the contact we make within ourselves. We come into that place as we begin to take right thought within ourselves, as we reach for God’s presence within.

When I say “reach,” I don’t mean to say we have to “reach out” somewhere. God’s presence is right there within us all the time. And God’s presence is also right there within the other person for whom you are praying.

So we reach inward for God’s presence, and we think of the things that are of God.

The apostle Paul said it in a very appropriate way, recorded in Philippians 4:8:

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” These are the things we are to think about as we raise ourselves into the consciousness of God.

So we build our consciousness first. That’s what thought is for.

Prayer is an act of thought, yes. But more than that, prayer is an act of love. Love frees, love does not bind; love does not possess, love does not say “I wish you to do things this way” or “I want you to do things the way I want you to do them.”

Love doesn’t do that. Love frees you to the law of growth in your own uniqueness.

True prayer is a prayer of the heart, isn’t it? It’s a prayer of love.

In the Buddhist tradition, there are several stories where the savior is represented as a steed that soars across the skies over the ocean of life rescuing shipwrecked sailors.

In one story there are some sailors that have gone on a journey to the Island of Jewel and they have stopped at another island. On this island there is a band of seductresses, and the sailors get caught up with them and stay there.

The problem is that these seductresses are sirens; they are man-eating monsters and consume the sailors.

Every once in a while in the story the steed, which is called Cloud, appears over the island and calls to the sailors to mount upon his back. He flies off and takes them to safety, but they must not look back or else they will fall off.

So Cloud, the steed, does not save the sailors by sending his thoughts to them. He may extend compassion and love to them, but he really saves them by perfecting his own flight.

That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto myself.”

We must perfect our flight. Then, as we are lifted up, we also lift up others.

If you want to pray for someone, to help them, to heal them, to bless them, then first reach for God’s presence within you knowing that same presence is in the other person.

Realize that God’s perfection is everywhere present, as much in you as in the other person. God’s perfection is there, God’s abundance is there. It is not absent, it’s already present. Get in a consciousness of that perfection. If you wish, see the person in your mind’s eye as enfolded in God’s perfection.

Then feel the person in your heart, in love. Because it’s the love that really makes the connection. And love does its perfect work. It casts out fear. When we are in love, we are one with one another.

I was reading an article by Bill Moyers about a retreat place for people who have cancer. The place is called Commonweal, just north of San Francisco, on the Point Reyes National Seashore.

He told about his experience there. He said that people were coming together and just loving each other, sharing their stories and being recognized as a person. Not as a person who has something wrong with them, but simply as a person.

They loved each other, massaged each other, touched each other, and told each other their stories.

Bill Moyers said there was such a feeling of love there and healings were taking place there, because of the love and caring.

The prayer that heals is the prayer of the heart, the prayer of love.

When we pray from the heart then we are one with the other, and one with God. When we pray with the heart then we are in the “secret place of the Most High.” Only love can enter there, because God is love.

It is the mansion of miracles.

Remember that Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” It is the creative house of life, the creative house of the Spirit within you; it is that secret place of the heart where we are all one and where there are no differences.

So if you want to pray a prayer that will help someone, pray the prayer of the heart, pray the prayer of love.

“In my Father’s house are many mansions.” No one is left out; that’s what Jesus meant.

No one is ever left out of our Father’s heart. When we pray the prayer of the heart, no one is ever left out. No one is shut out in prayer. I never pray only for myself, even when I pray for myself.

Whenever you pray, whether it is for yourself or another, no one is ever shut out. You always lift others. You always make contact, if you pray the prayer of the heart. And something changes. The hem of the garment is touched.

As you lift up your life, you also lift up the lives of others.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend. You may also reproduce and publish this article if you also include this reference box. Thank you!

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at
www.alanrowbotham.com

Special thanks to those of you who have sent tithes or love offerings for “Spiritual Solutions.” I am very grateful for your generosity.
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“Guidance” is a common word in our day. Everyone seeks some kind of guidance: guidance for children, for adolescents, for marriage relationships, for the businessperson, and so forth. Occasionally, someone might suggest the idea of spiritual or “Divine” guidance.

Unfortunately, that suggestion may be looked upon with distrust, simply because the term “Divine guidance” is usually related to the magical, mystical or psychic. Yet there is an almost instinctive feeling in every person that there is a “Something” beyond personal prejudices, different from the mental state of worry and concern, and that this “Something” can be reached.

But this feeling for the “Something” has often been dealt with on the level of superstition. Thus, many persons look for guidance through a sign or leading, all the way from the flipping of a coin to reading the stars or the numbers, the cards, the tea leaves or the crystal ball, and then on to Indian guides and spirit readings. This is not to put down any of these pseudo-sciences, but rather to point up the fact that involvement in them is a subtle form of self put-down.

If any person evidences, even in a brief showing, some kind of inner direction or direct knowing, it is often identified as ESP or psychic phenomenon or spirit guidance. This is to malign our potential as a spiritual being, and to deny the inherent flow of guidance within us that is just as natural as the instinct of animals. Remember this dynamic statement from the book of Job: “There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding.” So why do we refuse to accept this inner knowing?

Maybe it is that religion has not really dealt with the whole of the person. The dictionary defines “religion” as “divine revelation for human guidance.” But most religions have become exteriorly oriented, dealing with God “out there” or “up there.” We may be told in impassioned sermons that our need is “to find God.” But God is not to be found – for God is not lost. 

It is not God’s hiddenness, but our blindness that is the problem. We live in a state of ceaseless guidance, in a field of Infinite knowingness, but we are blind and deaf to the process. Emerson says, “There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening we shall hear the right word.”

To find God, to understand God, we need to expand our thoughts to the realization of the omnipresence of God and then know, in the words of former Unity minister and author Eric Butterworth, “The whole of Spirit is present at every point in space at the same time, and in its entirety.” There is no distance between us and God. There is nowhere to go to get guidance or inspiration or creativity. We are in it, all of it, all the time!

Divine guidance, or spiritual guidance or “direct knowing” is the same as getting an immediate answer to prayer in time of need. It is but another way of explaining the work of intuition. The ancient wise ones called these occurrences “illumination.” The mystics called them “showings.” Many call them “leadings.” But again we lose the real idea if we see these things as some kind of special access to the inner secrets of the Universe, or some kind of psychism or divination.

The term “Voice of God” is purely a poetic expression. It is found all through the Bible.   And it has been terribly misleading for many people. The classic instance is Moses’ experience at the burning bush. “God called to him out of the bush: ‘Moses, Moses!’” This was an experience of direct knowing. The Bible writers used highly symbolic language and overstatement, such as describing locusts as big as giants that jumped from hill to hill. So they are saying in this passage about Moses that it was a knowing so clear that it was as if God was actually talking to him.

Remember, “The Father knows even before you ask Him”; “Before they call, I will answer.” This means that God is present – always and in all ways. God knows. God knows in you, for you. Knowing is, and it is at hand. It is now. The way out (the way to escape the difficulties at hand) is at hand.

But this guidance or direct knowing comes into consciousness most easily through a mind that is uncluttered with the known. If you know about a lot of things, it is difficult to know the Truth, which is to know the Knower. A creative mind, or a mind in a creative experience, is so involved in knowing that it lets go of what others know about, even if they know about things that indicate impossibilities.

Most people have preconceived notions which they bring into their prayer time. They have a strong idea of what they want to have happen, and often, even in seeking guidance they are actually looking for “Divine approval” of something they have already determined to do. To have the mind full of preconceived notions, even images and treasure maps representing outlined goals, is to frustrate the process of direct knowing.

The important thing to remember is that wherever you are, God is. The whole of Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is present in its entirety at every point in space at the same time. Spirit is present, as presence. All-knowing is present. The answer to your dilemma is present – here and now. There is nowhere to go, nothing to reach for, and no one to contact and plead with.

Prayer is communion, oneness, a listening. “Be still and know that I am God.” When you know that I AM is God, you humble yourself to listen; you expect to be guided. In childlike faith, you know the Knower within you that is always present.

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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“Summer Heat Calls for Inner Cool!” I could see the headline now, as I worked with my frustration in trying to get someone to come out and fix our air-conditioning. It was the middle of summer and not only was the air inside the house hot, I was pretty hot too.

The promise was that someone would come out and fix it between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., Monday. No one showed up. They said they’d be there Tuesday, between the same times. It was after 4 p.m. before anyone showed up.

Then, after assurances from customer service that we had a manufacturer’s warranty on the A/C unit, the service man tells me the condenser unit needs replacing and there’s no warranty on that.

It wasn’t just air-conditioning I needed by this time, it was inner conditioning! Ever been there? I’m sure you have. Of course, it all got resolved eventually. We got several quotes and now have a brand new condenser unit with a 10-year warranty.

A nice ending touch was that, a couple of days later, we received a lovely flower arrangement by way of the sales person. It sat there sweetly in the middle of our coffee table, quietly reminding me of the need for inner conditioning if you want to be truly cool.

There’s a great little story that points up the same message:

Once upon a time there was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried.

The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this painting thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains too. But these mountains were ragged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest – in perfect peace.

The king chose the second painting as the prize-winning picture of peace. Do you know why?

“Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”

Would you like to be truly cool and maintain a deep sense of inner peace?

Well, maybe I can help you with some inner conditioning.

Have you ever thought of using a meditation based on the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi? You may recall that the opening line of that famous prayer is, “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.”

The clue to finding peace is in those last two words: “thy peace.”

You can learn how to be a calm center of peace for yourself and an instrument of God’s peace for others. Here’s how:

First take some time, maybe each day for a week, to memorize the Prayer of St. Francis.

Then, having memorized the prayer, when you next settle into a time of quiet meditation, use one line of the prayer at a time and say it very slowly to yourself letting it sink into your consciousness at a deep level:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon,

Where there is doubt, faith,

Where there is despair, hope,

Where there is darkness, light,

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much

Seek to be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying [to self] that we are born to eternal life.

Let this be your form of meditation each day for as long as need be, and until you are feeling a deeper sense of peace within yourself. Then keep it in mind and use it whenever you need it any time in the future.

“If you are at peace,” said Thomas Merton, “then there is at least some peace in the world. Then share your peace with everyone, and everyone will be at peace.”

Yours, in Love and Peace,

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

P.S. If you would like to be on Rev. Alan’s personal mailing list to receive his inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, you can sign up at http://spiritualsolutionsblog.com/

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In this series based on selections from the book The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence, we last week presented the first of Brother Lawrence’s Letters.

In the First Letter he emphasized the importance of making the sense of God’s presence habitual. In other words, so that it becomes a natural part of our being.

In seeking to become wholly God’s, he renounced in mind everything that was not God and began to live as if there was none but God and he in the world.

 Even though he encountered many difficulties in his practice, he continued it.

 Now we turn to the Second Letter.

To the Reverend _________

Not finding any manner of life in books, although I have no difficulty about it, yet, for greater security, I shall be glad to know your thoughts concerning it.

In a conversation some days since with a person of piety, he told me the spiritual life was a life of grace, which begins with servile fear, which is increased by hope of eternal life, and which is consummated by pure love; that each of these states had its different stages, by which one arrives at last at that blessed consummation.

I have not followed all these methods. On the contrary, from I know not what instincts, I found they discouraged me. This is the reason why, at my entrance into religion, I took a resolution to give myself up to God, as the best return I could make for His love, and, for the love of Him, to renounce all besides.

For the first year I commonly employed myself during the time set apart for devotion with the thought of death, judgment, heaven, hell, and my sins. Thus I continued some years, applying my mind carefully the rest of the day, and even in the midst of my business, to the presence of God, whom I considered always as with me, often as in me.

At length I came insensibly to do the same thing during my set time of prayer, which caused in me great delight and consolation. This practice produced in me so high an esteem for God that faith alone was capable to satisfy me in that point.

(At this point the narrator inserts a footnote, as follows: I suppose he means that all distinct notions he could form of God were unsatisfactory, because he perceived them to be unworthy of God; and therefore his mind was not to be satisfied but by the views of faith, which apprehend God as infinite and incomprehensible, as He is in Himself, and not as He can be conceived by human ideas.)

Such was my beginning, and yet I must tell you that for the first ten years I suffered much. The apprehension that I was not devoted to God as I wished to be, my past sins always present to my mind, and the great unmerited favors which God did me, were the matter and source of my sufferings. During this time I fell often, and rose again presently.

It seemed to me that all creatures, reason, and God Himself were against me, and faith alone for me. I was troubled sometimes with thoughts that to believe I had received such favors was an effect of my presumption, which pretended to be at once where others arrived with difficulty; at other times, that it was a willful delusion, and that there was no salvation for me.

When I thought of nothing but to end my days in these troubles (which did not at all diminish the trust I had in God, and which served only to increase my faith), I found myself changed all at once; and my soul, which till that time was in trouble, felt a profound inward peace, as if she were in her center and place of rest.

Ever since that time I walk before God simply, in faith, with humility and with love, and I apply myself diligently to do nothing and think nothing which may displease Him. I hope that when I have done what I can, He will do with me what He pleases.

As for what passes in me at present, I cannot express it. I have no pain or difficulty about my state, because I have no will but that of God, which I endeavor to accomplish in all things, and to which I am so resigned that I would not take up a straw from the ground against His order, or from any other motive than purely that of love to Him.

I have quitted all forms of devotion and set prayers but those to which my state obliges me. And I make it my business only to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I keep myself by a simple attention, and a general fond regard to God, which I may call an actual presence of God; or, to speak better, an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with God, which often causes me joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes also outwardly, so great that I am forced to use means to moderate them and prevent their appearance to others.

In short, I am assured beyond all doubt that my soul has been with God above these thirty years. I pass over many things that I may not be tedious to you, yet I think it proper to inform you after what manner I consider myself before God, whom I behold as my King.

I consider myself as the most wretched of men, full of sores and corruption, and who has committed all sorts of crimes against his King. Touched with a sensible regret, I confess to Him all my wickedness, I ask his forgiveness, I abandon myself in His hands that He may do what He pleases with me. The King, full of mercy and goodness, very far from chastising me, embraces me with love, makes me eat at His table, serves me with His own hands, gives me the key of His treasures; He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways, and treats me in all respects as His favorite. It is thus I consider myself from time to time in His holy presence.

My most useful method is this simple attention, and such a general passionate regard to God, to whom I find myself often attached with great sweetness and delight than that of an infant at the mother’s breast; so that, if I dare to use the expression, I should choose to call this state the bosom of God, for the inexpressible sweetness which I taste and experience there.

If sometimes my thoughts wander from it by necessity or infirmity, I am presently recalled by inward motions so charming and delicious that I am ashamed to mention them. I desire your Reverence to reflect rather upon my great wretchedness, of which you are fully informed, than upon the great favors which God does me, all unworthy and ungrateful as I am.

As for my set hours of prayer, they are only a continuation of the same exercise. Sometimes I consider myself there as a stone before a carver, whereof he is to make a statue; presenting myself thus before God, I desire Him to form His perfect image in my soul, and to make me entirely like Himself.

At other times, when I apply myself to prayer, I feel all my spirit and all my soul lift itself up without any care or effort of mine, and it continues as it were suspended and firmly fixed in God, as in its center and place of rest.

I know that some charge this state with inactivity, delusion, and self-love. I confess that it is a holy inactivity, and would be a happy self-love if the soul in that state were capable of it, because, in effect, while she is in this repose, she cannot be disturbed by such acts as she was former accustomed to, and which were then her support, but which would now rather hinder than assist her.

Yet I cannot bear that this should be called delusion, because the soul which thus enjoys God desires herein nothing but Him. If this be delusion in me, it belongs to God to remedy it. Let Him do what He pleases with me; I desire only Him, and to be wholly devoted to Him. You will, however, oblige me in sending me your opinion, to which I always pay a great deference, for I have a singular esteem for your Reverence, and am in our Lord,

Yours, etc.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words

To make a donation to “Spiritual Solutions,” just go to Send a Love Offering and it will take you to a simple form you can use. Thank you – I am very grateful for your generosity!

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Some of the highlights we learned from the Third Conversation of Brother Lawrence in his book, The Practice of the Presence of God – The Best Rule of a Holy Life, were these:

Once he had established for himself what he felt was the foundation of the spiritual life, he focused on performing all his actions for the love of God to the exclusion of all else. If sometimes he neglected his attention on God’s presence he didn’t waste much time on beating himself up about it but quickly returned to his focus.

His faith and trust in God brought a great awareness of all the blessings he experienced due to this practice, causing him to automatically turn to God for guidance in all his affairs without even having to think about it beforehand.

He didn’t have any great expertise in the formal practice of prayer and meditation; indeed it caused him some anxiety and perplexity. But if in his ordinary everyday affairs he put his attention on God with genuine and loving feelings he was confident in being guided in every aspect of his life; and he felt that no particular knowledge or skill was needed for anyone to experience this for themselves if they would only put the love of God first and foremost in all things.

Now we turn our attention to the Fourth Conversation:

He discoursed with me very frequently, and with great openness of heart, concerning his manner of going to God, whereof some part is related already.

He told me that all consists in one hearty renunciation of everything which we are sensible does not lead to God. That we might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and in simplicity. That we need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment, that we may beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful, and for rightly performing those which we plainly see. He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks when we have done.

That in this conversation with God we are also employed in praising, adoring, and loving Him incessantly for His infinite goodness and perfection.

That without being discouraged on account of our sins, we should pray for His grace with a perfect confidence, as relying upon the infinite merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. That God never failed offering His grace at each action; that he distinctly perceived it, and never failed of it, unless when his thoughts had wandered from a sense of God’s presence, or he had forgotten to ask His assistance.

That God always gave us light in our doubts when we had no other design but to please Him.

That our sanctification did not depend upon changing our works, but in doing that for God’s sake which we commonly do for our own. That it was lamentable to see how many people mistook the means for the end, addicting themselves to certain works, which they performed very imperfectly, by reason of their human or selfish regards.

That the most excellent method he had found of going to God was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing men, and (as far as we are capable) purely for the love of God.

That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times; that we are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer.

That his prayer was nothing else but a sense of the presence of God, his soul being at tht time insensible to everything but divine love; and that when the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and blessing Him with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy; yet hoped that God would give him somewhat to suffer when he should grow stronger.

That we ought, once for all, heartily to put our whole trust in God, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He would not deceive us.

That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. That we should not wonder if, in the beginning, we often failed in our endeavors, but that at last we should gain a habit, which will naturally produce its acts in us, without our care, and to our exceeding great delight.

That the whole substance of religion was faith, hope, and charity, by the practice of which we become united to the will of God; that all besides is indifferent, and to be used as a means that we may arrive at our end, and be swallowed up therein, by faith and charity.

That all things are possible to him who believes, that they are less difficult to him who hopes; that they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues.

That the end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in this life, the most perfect worshipers of God we can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity.

That when we enter upon the spiritual life, we should consider and examine to the bottom what we are. And then we should find ourselves worthy of all contempt, and not deserving indeed the name of Christians; subject to all kinds of misery and numberless accidents, which trouble us and cause perpetual vicissitudes in our health, in our humors, in our internal and external dispositions; in fine, persons whom God would humble by many pains and labors, as well within as without. After this we should not wonder that troubles, temptations, oppositions, and contradictions happen to us from men. We ought, on the contrary, to submit ourselves to them, and bear them as long as God pleases, as things highly advantageous to us.

That the greater perfection a soul aspires after, the more dependent it is upon divine grace.

(The particulars which follow are collected from other accounts of Brother Lawrence.)

Being questioned by one of his own society (to whom he was obliged to open himself) by what means he had attained such an habitual sense of God, he told him that, since his first coming to the monastery, he had considered God as the end of all his thoughts and desires, as the mark to which they should tend, and in which they should terminate.

That in the beginning of his novitiate he spent the hours appointed for private prayer in thinking of God, so as to convince his mind of, and to impress deeply upon his heart, the divine existence, rather by devout sentiments, and submission to the lights of faith, than by studied reasonings and elaborate meditations. That by this short and sure method he exercised himself in the knowledge and love of God, resolving to use his utmost endeavor to live in a continual sense of His presence, and, if possible, never to forget Him more.

That when he had thus is prayer filled his mind with great sentiments of that infinite Being, he went to his work appointed in the kitchen (for he was cook to the society). There having first considered severally the things his office required, and when and how each thing was to be done, he spent all the intervals of his time, as well before as after his work, in prayer.

That when he began his business, he said to God, with a filial trust in Him: O my God, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections.

As he proceeded in his work he continued his familiar conversations with his Maker, imploring His grace, and offering to Him all his actions.

When he had finished he examined himself how he had discharged his duty; if he found well, he returned thanks to God; if otherwise, he asked pardon, and, without being discouraged, he set his mind right again, and continued his exercise of the presence of God as if he had never deviated from it. "Thus," said he, "by rising after my falls, and by frequently renewed acts of faith and love, I am come to a state wherein it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it was at first to accustom my self to it."

As Brother Lawrence had found sucn an advantage in walking in the presence of God, it was natural for him to recommend it earnestly to others; but his example was a stronger inducement than any arguments he could propose. His very countenance was edifying, such a sweet and calm devotion appearing in it as could not but affect the beholders. And it was observed that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen he still preserved his recollection and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty, nor loitering, but did each thing in its season, with an even, uninterrupted composure and tranquillity of spirit. "The time of business," said he, "does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament."

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words

I have been asked how a person can donate to "Spiritual Solutions." Just go to Send a Love Offering and it will take you to a form you can use for your donation. Thank you – I am very grateful for your generosity!

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Last week we considered the Preface and the First Conversation in the little book The Practice of the Presence of God – The Best Rule of a Holy Life, by Brother Lawrence. 

The essence of what was covered is as follows: 

We learned the importance of establishing ourselves in a ongoing sense of God’s presence, of continually conversing with God, and of feeding and nourishing our souls with high notions of God, practices which bring feelings of great joy into our everday experience. In other words, we are to praise God and give thanks to God in an ongoing basis, in order to develop a continuing sense of God’s presence in our life through an ever-deepening feeling of gratitude.

And we are to do this without being overly concerned about others “sins” or misdeeds, praying for them but simply leaving that all in God’s hands.

Encouraged to quicken, or enliven, our faith, we are to “give ourselves up to God” in both temporal and spiritual things. As we are faithful in times of “dryness or insensibilities or irksomeness in prayer” we will find that these can be times of spiritual advancement.

Even when we cannot feel God’s presence, we are to continue in our faith in God, in our praise and gratitude toward God for all the blessings in our life.

As we are attentive to our passions in both spiritual and material things, God will give light and direction to those who truly desire to serve God’s highest purpose for our lives.

This week, we turn to the “Second Conversation.”

SECOND CONVERSATION

That he had always been governed by love, without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied with his method. That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not even His gifts.

That he had been long troubled in mind from a certain belief that he should be damned; that all men in the world could not have persuaded him to the contrary; but that he had thus reasoned with himself about it: I engaged in a religious life only for the love of God, and I have endeavored to act only for Him; whatever becomes of me, whether I be lost or saved, I will always continue to act purely for the love of God. I shall have this good at least, that till death I shall have done all that is in me to love Him.

That this trouble of mind had lasted four years, during which time he had suffered much; but that at last he had seen that this trouble arose from want of faith, and that since then he had passed his life in perfect liberty and continual joy. That he had placed his sins betwixt him and God, as it were, to tell Him that he did not deserve His favors, but that God still continued to bestow them in abundance.

That in order to form a habit of conversing with God continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must at first apply to Him with some diligence; but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty.

That he expected, after the pleasant days God had given him, that he should have his turn of pain and suffering; but that he was not uneasy about it, knowing very well that as he could do nothing of himself, God would not fail to give him strength to bear it.

That when an occasion of practicing some virtue offered, he addressed himself to God, saying, “Lord, I cannot do this unless Thou enablest me;” and that then he received strength more than sufficient.

That when he had failed in his duty, he only confessed to his fault, saying to God, “I shall never do otherwise if you leave me to myself; it is You who must hinder my falling, and mend what is amiss.” That after this he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.

That we ought to act with God in the greatest simplicity, speaking to Him frankly and plainly, and imploring His assistance in our affairs, just as they happen. That God never failed to grant it, as he had often experienced.

That he had lately been sent into Burgundy, to buy the provision of wine for the society, which was a very unwelcome task for him, because he had no turn for business, and because he was lame and could not go about the boat but by rolling himself over the casks. That, however, he gave himself no uneasiness about it, nor about the purchase of the wine. That he said to God, It was His business he was about, and that he afterward found it very well performed. That he had been sent into Auvergne, the year before, upon the same account; that he could not tell how the matter passed, but that it proved very well.

So, likewise, in his business in the kitchen (to which he had naturally a great aversion), having accustomed himself to do everything there for the love of God, and with prayer, upon all occasions, for His grace to do his work well, he had found everything easy, during fifteen years that he had been employed there.

That he was very well pleased with the post he was now in; but that he was as ready to quit that as the former, since he was always pleasing himself in every condition by doing little things for the love of God.

That with him the set times of prayer were not different from other times; that he retired to pray, according to the directions of his superior, but that he did not want such retirement, nor ask for it, because his greatest business did not divert him from God.

That as he knew his obligation to love God in all things, and as he endeavored so to do, he had no need of a director to advise him, but that he needed much a confessor to absolve him. That he was very sensible of his faults, but not discouraged by them; that he confessed them to God, but did not plead against Him to excuse them. When he had so done, he peaceably resumed his usual practice of love and adoration.

That in his trouble of mind he had consulted nobody, but knowing only by the light of faith that God was present, he contented himself with directing all his actins to Him, i.e., doing them with a desire to please Him, let what would come of it.

That useless thoughts spoil all; that the mischief began there; but that we ought to reject them as soon as we perceived their impertinence to the matter in hand, or our salvation, and return to our communion with God.

That at the beginning he had often passed his time appointed for prayer in rejectng wandering thoughts and falling back into them. That he could never regulate his devotion by certain methods as some do. That, nevertheless, at first he had meditated for some time, but afterward that went off, in a manner he could give no account of.

That all bodily mortifications and other exercises are useless, except as they serve to arrive at the union with God by love; that he had well considered this, and found it the shortest way to go straight to Him  by a continual exercise of love and doing all things for His sake.

That we ought to make a great difference between the acts of the understanding and those of the will; that the first were comparatively of little value, and the others, all. That our only business was to love and delight ourselves in God.

That all possible kinds of mortification, if they were void of the love of God, could not efface a single sin. That we ought, without anxiety, to expect the pardon of our sins from the blood of Jesus Christ, only endeavoring to love Him with all our hearts. That God seemed to have granted the greatest favors to the greatest sinners, as more signal monuments of His mercy.

That the greatest pains or pleasures of this world were not to be compated with what he had experienced of both kinds in a spiritual state; so that he was careful for nothing and feared nothing, desiring only one thing of God, viz., that he might not offend Him.

That he had no scruples; for, said he, when I fail in my duty, I readily acknowledge it, saying, I am used to do so; I shall never do otherwise if I am left to myself. If I fail not, then I give God thanks, acknowledging that the strength comes from Him.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words

I have been asked how a person can donate to “Spiritual Solutions.” Just go to Send a Love Offering and it will take you to a form you can use for your donation. Thank you – I am very grateful for your generosity!
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