As a licensed Spiritual Practitioner with Centers for Spiritual Living, I’ve had the privilege of praying for others, in person and online. I refer to it as a privilege because when I pray for others, I am also praying for myself, as prayer changes everyone involved!
When we pray for others, just like when we pray for ourselves, we are not praying to change the person. We are praying to change our thinking about ourselves or another.
Praying for others, therefore, becomes a matter of releasing those people to the activity of God and continually strengthening
our own awareness of this activity in them.
~ Excerpted from The Quest for Prayer by Mary-Alice and Richard Jafolla
Mary-Alice explains further …
Spoken Word: Praying from a God Consciousness
… When we pray for a person, we pray not to God, but from a consciousness of God. In this consciousness, we see the wholeness and beauty and blessings already available to the person and we use our prayers to affirm and acknowledge and give thanks for this Truth about the situation.
Any words we might speak from this elevated consciousness are therefore true “Spoken Words” because they originate from the divine power of us. When uttered by us in desiring to bless other people, the intention of these words is to release the God-power within those people.
The “Spoken Word of God” has nothing to do with trying to manipulate people and events or making something happen, these true Spoken Words are devoid of any ego or personal will, and are essentially a release of the power of God within us.
When it comes to helping others through prayer, each of us must ask, “Am I lighting a candle, or am I merely helping someone grope in the dark?”
~ Taken from Unity article: Praying for Others
Last week, I had the privilege of praying for a friend. But rather than praying for this friend, I gave advice instead. The approach, although well-meaning, did nothing to change my friend’s or my thinking. Nor did it help us feel the power of God within. Not only did I miss the mark, but I left my friend dealing with more fears than when we started. And, in turn, left me feeling empty, knowing I had misspoken.
I know there is time for prayer and time for advice. Remembering when to offer one option or the other is an important lesson to learn. I, too, have moments when fear and uncertainty overtake me, and I want prayer first. I want the ‘release of the power of God within us,” as Mary-Alice describes in the quote above.
The world is filled with wanted and unwanted advice. Pray for the release of the power of God within, which is the best gift we can give ourselves and those around us in need.