PEARL

Clarified spirit Calmed heart!

Develop a personal prayer culture

Praying is a pathway that is to be well-kept! Several aspects will have a positive effect on the development of a personal prayer culture, namely the trust that we place in prayer, the necessary preparation and the individual shaping of the prayer in accordance with our own personality.

Pray with heartfelt confidence

Many people find it difficult to pray because of adopted errors that act as stumbling blocks on the path thereto. One of these is the idea of an arbitrarily punitive or helpful God. It is rightly perceived that this conception of God, which was transmitted in former times, described in many facets in the Old Testament or depicted in art, can never correspond to what God really must be: HE, the Creator of the whole Universe, the starting point of all Power and all Light, high and sublime, stands far above all human conceptions and visualisations.

Many people pray to God to intervene in all the wars, horrors and hardships and to deliver the nations and peoples from the misery ensuing therefrom. Sooner or later, those who utter such prayers meet with disappointment, because their prayers seemingly remain unanswered. The wars only get worse and the misery increases unabated.

Nevertheless, it may be assumed that prayers which originate from genuine compassion and longing for peace do not remain without effect. However, we must first come to the recognition that God does not intervene arbitrarily in man-made events, nor does He need to, because, already from the very beginning of Creation, He has woven His Will in the form of active forces into all parts of Creation in such a way that they have an ordering and regulating effect in absolute perfection over everything in Creation. These lawfully acting forces of Creation can be recognised by human beings as Laws of Nature as soon as they open their eyes to these forces which act in nature as well as in human life.

Nothing could be simpler, and yet it is the hardest: simply to be.
From ‘Ephesus’ (Published by Stiftung Gralsbotschaft, Stuttgart)
There is a great Law that permeates the whole Creation. He who does not sow shall not reap either. That means: he who would like to obtain something shall strive for it. Striving for it, however, does not mean impetuously rushing at it, wanting to force along fulfillment of the wish at all costs. When the wish will be fulfilled, when the harvest is ripe, depends on God’s Will. When man has done his part, he must wait. Exactly at the hour decreed by God, he may then receive what he has earned through his deeds.
Zoroaster

Drawing on the parables of Jesus, Paul described one of these Laws in his letter to the Galatians: ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’ (6,7) This describes the principle of reciprocity, which runs through the entire Universe and not only manifests in nature as seed and harvest, but also confronts us human beings in the Law of Reciprocal Action with the fact that we must reap what we send out, thus what issues from us, be it in thoughts, words or deeds.

Fate or so-called karma develops in the strict activity of this Natural Law for the individual human being as well as for whole nations and ethnic groups and can thus be seen as a consequence of former events and personal decisions, which often go far back into previous earth lives. Only when we take into consideration that every person living on earth at the present time already has a number of earth lives behind him at different times and in different places, does it become clear to us why a particular fate often must inevitably develop, be it in the life of the individual or encompassing whole groups of peoples.

At the same time, however, it has to be borne in mind that not everything that we human beings lament or deplore as hardship, serious setbacks, crisis situations and ill-fated events are karmic repercussions. Rather, many devastating or harrowing developments, such as the loss of a loved one or even the homeland, a severe illness or other mental and emotional traumas, act as catalysts towards faster spiritual maturing and may thus ultimately be seen as a blessing, however difficult this may be to recognise at the time.

Thus, there have been in the course of thousands of years, again and again, peoples who have matured more quickly as a result of terrible events such as war and oppression than those who lived carefree lives in peace and prosperity.

However, karma can begin anew, just as old

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from PEARL

PEARL1 min read
Contributors
Ojúmó T’imó speaks and writes on questions that agitate humanity. ■
PEARL1 min read
Correspondence
In writing a letter to the magazine, please include the writer’s name, address, and daytime telephone number, and bear in mind that letters to the editor always reflect the writer’s personal opinion, which is not necessarily that of the editors. We m
PEARL6 min readSelf-Management
Self-control
Often the hardest struggles we face are those situations in which we have to appear untroubled, carefree, cheerful and happy, and yet we would prefer to weep – or else those moments in which our blood ‘boils’, our nerves are stretched to breaking poi

Related