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91:8 Praying as a Personal Experience (view source)
Revision as of 22:12, 18 July 2011
, 22:12, 18 July 2011Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame 91:8.1 There is a truly spontaneous aspect to prayer, for [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?...'
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91:8.1 There is a truly [[spontaneous]] aspect to [[prayer]], for [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_52#52:1._PRIMITIVE_MAN primitive man] found himself praying long before he had any clear [[concept]] of a [[God]]. Early man was wont to [[pray]] in two [[diverse]] situations: When in dire need, he experienced the impulse to reach out for [[help]]; and when jubilant, he indulged the impulsive [[expression]] of [[joy]].
91:8.2 [[Prayer]] is not an [[evolution]] of [[magic]]; they each arose [[independently]]. [[Magic]] was an attempt to [[adjust]] [[Deity]] to conditions; [[prayer]] is the [[effort]] to adjust the [[personality]] to the will of [[Deity]]. True [[prayer]] is both [[moral]] and [[religious]]; [[magic]] is neither.
91:8.3 [[Prayer]] may become an [[established]] [[custom]]; many pray because others do. Still others pray because they [[fear]] something direful may happen if they do not offer their regular supplications.
91:8.4 To some [[individuals]] [[prayer]] is the calm [[expression]] of [[gratitude]]; to others, a [[group]] [[expression]] of [[praise]], [[social]] devotions; sometimes it is the imitation of another's [[religion]], while in true praying it is the [[sincere]] and trusting [[communication]] of the [[spiritual]] [[nature]] of the [[creature]] with the anywhere [[presence]] of [[Thought Adjuster|the spirit of the Creator]].
91:8.5 [[Prayer]] may be a [[spontaneous]] [[expression]] of [[God-consciousness]] or a meaningless [[recitation]] of [[theologic]] [[formulas]]. It may be the [[ecstatic]] [[praise]] of a God-knowing [[soul]] or the slavish obeisance of a [[fear]]-ridden [[mortal]]. It is sometimes the pathetic [[expression]] of spiritual craving and sometimes the blatant shouting of pious [[phrases]]. [[Prayer]] may be [[joyous]] [[praise]] or a [[humble]] plea for [[forgiveness]].
91:8.6 [[Prayer]] may be the childlike plea for the impossible or the [[mature]] entreaty for [[moral]] [[growth]] and [[spiritual]] [[power]]. A [[petition]] may be for daily bread or may embody a wholehearted yearning to find [[God]] and to [[do his will]]. It may be a wholly [[selfish]] request or a true and [[magnificent]] [[gesture]] toward the [[realization]] of [[unselfish]] brotherhood.
91:8.7 [[Prayer]] may be an [[angry]] cry for [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vengeance?show=0&t=1284134077 vengeance] or a [[merciful]] [[intercession]] for one's enemies. It may be the [[expression]] of a [[hope]] of changing [[God]] or the powerful [[technique]] of changing one's [[self]]. It may be the cringing [[plea]] of a lost sinner before a supposedly stern [[Judge]] or the [[joyful]] [[expression]] of a [[liberated]] son of the living and [[merciful]] heavenly [[Father]].
91:8.8 [[Modern]] man is [[perplexed]] by the [[thought]] of talking [[things]] over with [[God]] in a [[purely]] [[personal]] way. Many have abandoned regular praying; they only pray when under unusual [[pressure]]—in [[emergencies]]. Man should be unafraid to talk to [[God]], but only a spiritual child would undertake to [[persuade]], or presume to [[change]], [[God]].
91:8.9 But real praying does [[attain]] [[reality]]. Even when the [[air]] currents are ascending, no bird can soar except by outstretched wings. [[Prayer]] elevates man because it is a [[technique]] of progressing by the utilization of the [[ascending]] [[spiritual]] [[Circuits|currents]] of the [[universe]].
91:8.10 Genuine [[prayer]] adds to [[spiritual]] [[growth]], modifies [[attitudes]], and yields that [[satisfaction]] which comes from [[communion]] with [[divinity]]. It is a [[spontaneous]] outburst of [[God-consciousness]].
91:8.11 [[God]] answers man's [[prayer]] by giving him an increased [[revelation]] of [[truth]], an enhanced [[appreciation]] of [[beauty]], and an augmented [[concept]] of [[goodness]]. [[Prayer]] is a [[subjective]] [[gesture]], but it [[contacts]] with mighty [[objective]] [[realities]] on the [[spiritual]] levels of human [[experience]]; it is a meaningful reach by the [[human]] for [[superhuman]] [[values]]. It is the most [[potent]] [[spiritual]]-[[growth]] [[stimulus]].
91:8.12 [[Words]] are irrelevant to [[prayer]]; they are merely the [[intellectual]] [[channel]] in which the [[river]] of [[spiritual]] supplication may [[chance]] to [[flow]]. The word [[value]] of a [[prayer]] is purely autosuggestive in [[private]] [[devotions]] and sociosuggestive in group [[devotions]]. [[God]] answers the [[soul]]'s [[attitude]], not the [[words]].
91:8.13 [[Prayer]] is not a [[technique]] of [[escape]] from [[conflict]] but rather a [[stimulus]] to [[growth]] in the very [[face]] of conflict. Pray only for [[values]], not [[things]]; for [[growth]], not for [[gratification]].
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_91 Go to Paper 91]</center>
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
[[Category:Paper 91 - Evolution of Prayer]]
91:8.1 There is a truly [[spontaneous]] aspect to [[prayer]], for [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_52#52:1._PRIMITIVE_MAN primitive man] found himself praying long before he had any clear [[concept]] of a [[God]]. Early man was wont to [[pray]] in two [[diverse]] situations: When in dire need, he experienced the impulse to reach out for [[help]]; and when jubilant, he indulged the impulsive [[expression]] of [[joy]].
91:8.2 [[Prayer]] is not an [[evolution]] of [[magic]]; they each arose [[independently]]. [[Magic]] was an attempt to [[adjust]] [[Deity]] to conditions; [[prayer]] is the [[effort]] to adjust the [[personality]] to the will of [[Deity]]. True [[prayer]] is both [[moral]] and [[religious]]; [[magic]] is neither.
91:8.3 [[Prayer]] may become an [[established]] [[custom]]; many pray because others do. Still others pray because they [[fear]] something direful may happen if they do not offer their regular supplications.
91:8.4 To some [[individuals]] [[prayer]] is the calm [[expression]] of [[gratitude]]; to others, a [[group]] [[expression]] of [[praise]], [[social]] devotions; sometimes it is the imitation of another's [[religion]], while in true praying it is the [[sincere]] and trusting [[communication]] of the [[spiritual]] [[nature]] of the [[creature]] with the anywhere [[presence]] of [[Thought Adjuster|the spirit of the Creator]].
91:8.5 [[Prayer]] may be a [[spontaneous]] [[expression]] of [[God-consciousness]] or a meaningless [[recitation]] of [[theologic]] [[formulas]]. It may be the [[ecstatic]] [[praise]] of a God-knowing [[soul]] or the slavish obeisance of a [[fear]]-ridden [[mortal]]. It is sometimes the pathetic [[expression]] of spiritual craving and sometimes the blatant shouting of pious [[phrases]]. [[Prayer]] may be [[joyous]] [[praise]] or a [[humble]] plea for [[forgiveness]].
91:8.6 [[Prayer]] may be the childlike plea for the impossible or the [[mature]] entreaty for [[moral]] [[growth]] and [[spiritual]] [[power]]. A [[petition]] may be for daily bread or may embody a wholehearted yearning to find [[God]] and to [[do his will]]. It may be a wholly [[selfish]] request or a true and [[magnificent]] [[gesture]] toward the [[realization]] of [[unselfish]] brotherhood.
91:8.7 [[Prayer]] may be an [[angry]] cry for [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vengeance?show=0&t=1284134077 vengeance] or a [[merciful]] [[intercession]] for one's enemies. It may be the [[expression]] of a [[hope]] of changing [[God]] or the powerful [[technique]] of changing one's [[self]]. It may be the cringing [[plea]] of a lost sinner before a supposedly stern [[Judge]] or the [[joyful]] [[expression]] of a [[liberated]] son of the living and [[merciful]] heavenly [[Father]].
91:8.8 [[Modern]] man is [[perplexed]] by the [[thought]] of talking [[things]] over with [[God]] in a [[purely]] [[personal]] way. Many have abandoned regular praying; they only pray when under unusual [[pressure]]—in [[emergencies]]. Man should be unafraid to talk to [[God]], but only a spiritual child would undertake to [[persuade]], or presume to [[change]], [[God]].
91:8.9 But real praying does [[attain]] [[reality]]. Even when the [[air]] currents are ascending, no bird can soar except by outstretched wings. [[Prayer]] elevates man because it is a [[technique]] of progressing by the utilization of the [[ascending]] [[spiritual]] [[Circuits|currents]] of the [[universe]].
91:8.10 Genuine [[prayer]] adds to [[spiritual]] [[growth]], modifies [[attitudes]], and yields that [[satisfaction]] which comes from [[communion]] with [[divinity]]. It is a [[spontaneous]] outburst of [[God-consciousness]].
91:8.11 [[God]] answers man's [[prayer]] by giving him an increased [[revelation]] of [[truth]], an enhanced [[appreciation]] of [[beauty]], and an augmented [[concept]] of [[goodness]]. [[Prayer]] is a [[subjective]] [[gesture]], but it [[contacts]] with mighty [[objective]] [[realities]] on the [[spiritual]] levels of human [[experience]]; it is a meaningful reach by the [[human]] for [[superhuman]] [[values]]. It is the most [[potent]] [[spiritual]]-[[growth]] [[stimulus]].
91:8.12 [[Words]] are irrelevant to [[prayer]]; they are merely the [[intellectual]] [[channel]] in which the [[river]] of [[spiritual]] supplication may [[chance]] to [[flow]]. The word [[value]] of a [[prayer]] is purely autosuggestive in [[private]] [[devotions]] and sociosuggestive in group [[devotions]]. [[God]] answers the [[soul]]'s [[attitude]], not the [[words]].
91:8.13 [[Prayer]] is not a [[technique]] of [[escape]] from [[conflict]] but rather a [[stimulus]] to [[growth]] in the very [[face]] of conflict. Pray only for [[values]], not [[things]]; for [[growth]], not for [[gratification]].
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_91 Go to Paper 91]</center>
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
[[Category:Paper 91 - Evolution of Prayer]]