EMPOWERMENT FOR EFFECTUAL PRAYER A paper presented by SR. REV. DR. UDO IGWE

1. EMPOWERMENT FOR EFFECTUAL PRAYER A paper presented by SR. REV. DR. UDOIGWE President, Unity Church Nigeria During A ONE-DAY WORKSHOP FOR MINISTERS AND LUTS Organised by SILENT UNITY, NIGERIA At Christ Unity Church Port Harcourt

2. Strange as it may seem, a great desire to enter into close communication with the Father rarely comes first through joy, during prosperity and success, youth and health, for at these times there is a certain sense of security when one seems sufficient unto oneself. Man usually turns to God because of some need that he realizes neither he or nor ay other human being can satisfy, and then truly man’s extremity becomes God’s opportunity… All men travel the path from self to God by way of prayer… It may take months, years, ages, to become a righteous man whose prayer availeth much, but time is nothing to the soul who has truly set out to find the kingdom. • - Frances W. Foulks.

3. Life Is Not A Station In the relative world, the only thing that is constant is change. Relative universe has to be a true representation of ideas in the absolute. Life therefore is always in a state of improvement drawn upwards by the need to unfold a better representation summed and subsumed in the unfolding light of the moment all in the universal quest for growth.

4. In Ernest C. Wilson’s words: “Life is a process not a spectacle, a progress, not a station… Lift up or give up is the law of life. We cannot remain long at a dead level of expression. In us is that which is constantly in its demand for expression. When we attempt to limit it, to circumscribe it, unhappiness results, we lose what we will not let grow”.

5. The process of spiritual empowerment and re-empowerment for continuous limitless improvements in our prayer power is the only pathway to the ultimate realization of our true nature and dominion.

6. History of Prayer • From Richard Lynch’s chapter on the “The Eternal Goodness” the origin of fear dates back to the early days of ignorance: • Primitive man regarded the universe as hostile. • He read enmity in all of natures forces and sought to protect himself from its destructive • intent.

7. His life was a continuous battle with the elements. • He believed himself to be a target for the fury of storm, flood, earthquakes, etc. • Man saw himself an insignificant atom to be overwhelmed and destroyed by forces that he was powerless to combat. • He saw that these forces were constantly seeking to annihilate him.

8. The fear of things that he did not understand was the beginning of man’s religious inclinations. Lynch opines that something within him felt there was a power greater than his own to protect him from the antagonistic malevolence of nature and the clutch of painful disease. In his primitive ignorance he cried out to it for help, and he thought to secure its favour by bribery of some sort or to buy off its evil intention by sacrifices and the payment of tribute as his primitive way of prayer:

9. The power that he invoked failed to respond to his placating efforts. • His groping mind gradually established a reason, and thus the idea of punishment was born in his consciousness. • He grew to believe in a power that dealt out disaster, disease, and death in return for certain acts that he learned to call wrong or evil. • His personal god (anthromorphic) took shape as a ruler of the universe and its forces who rewarded merit and punished delinquency.

10. As man’s intellect evolved and his knowledge became embodied in system, science arose as his interpreter of the natural universe. Science has transformed the world for him. It’s brilliant illumination has dispelled the terror that his dark ignorance of nature’s activities inspired in primitive man. Some natural occurrences could to a large extent become predictable by scientific method. However, the fog of ignorance still labels life a failure:

11. Life is still regarded as empty and purposeless, lacking in health, supply and intelligence. • It points to sickness, unhappiness, incompetence, and failure. • Science has not solved man’s problems. If it solves one it creates ten. • There is confusion in which way to go between “abstract” Spirit and the concrete material world.

12. Duality still exists in man’s emerging awareness, good and evil, truth and error and traces of superstition. • Man’s interpretations are either wise or ignorant as he chooses. • Great super man have come, taught and demonstrated pure wisdom that makes the universe complete in their lives, Jesus is the greatest. • Science is to a large extent dropping some of its earlier postulations and agreeing with pure wisdom.

13. There is now the need for those who are leading in wisdom’s way to agree with elemental forces by embracing principle and recognizing the allness of good. They should seek this allness within their own soul, knowing that without mind there will be no matter. Rather than personalize Goodness, such leaders should become Goodness in expression. Good is said to be the only power in the universe and the

14. almighty creative principle within each soul, capable of unlimited expansion and expression in the life of everyone. This is the awareness that does away with ignorance and makes us Empowered for Effectual Prayer. Development in Consciousness: In his book “Point of Power”, Paul Hasselbeck says that “the point of prayer is not so much about the goodies we get but the Goodness we

15. realize we are”. He goes on in his “Heart-Centered Metaphysics” and said that words like “meeting ground” and “union” often used in the definition of prayer tend to imply that we can actually be separate from oneness, or Divine Mind when there can never be separation in oneness. He said that from our relative experience it only seems that we are making union with Divine Mind when what is really occurring is the awakening of awareness.

16. In Effectual Prayer attempt should be made by the individual praying to awaken to the highest level of awareness. In spiritual language Fire symbolizes inspiration. An example is “the flame of fire out of the midst of a bush in Mount Horeb… “the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed” (Ex. 3: 2). Mount Horeb which was the highest level of awareness which need to be attained in prayer.

17. Just like burning is the process of rapid oxidation, inspiration during prayer is the process of rapid involution and evolution of consciousness happening at same time.

18. Let us have a look at what Paul Hasselbeck presents as possible levels of consciousness. We will here quote Paul verbatim: • 1. Victim Consciousness:- Occurs when I believe and feel that everything is happening TO ME. I am a victim of the world I see and experience I have little or no control about what is happening to me.

19. 2. Victor Consciousness:-Occurs when I believe that I do have some ability to control the world and events around me and especially my experience of them. A certain amount of the world, events and my experiences are controlled BY ME. I have discovered the innate power of my mind. The state of consciousness still contains some victim consciousness; in order for there to be a victor, there must be a victim.

20. 3. Vessel Consciousness:-Occurs when I have realized there is something greater or bigger than I think, feel or believe I am. This something greater is God, Spirit, Christ or Divine Mind to identify a few of the names by which it is known. I believe I am an instrument, conduit or vessel of God, Spirit, Christ or Divine Essence. This consciousness is when I believe it is IN ME. On even higher state of vessel consciousness is

21. when I believe I am an expression of God, Spirit, Christ, or Divine Essence, but this is still not quite Oneness. To illustrate, the expression of a piano is sound. The sound is an effect of playing the piano, it is not the piano. Vessel Consciousness is also when I believe God is showing up AS ME. However a person can be the ‘Ekpe’ in the Ekpe Masquerade festival where he represents a ghost or spirit body. This

22. reason of consciousness still contains some victim consciousness. Notice that victim consciousness is about everything happening to me and this is usually in a negative sense. In vessel consciousness there is still that sense that something is happening to me, the only difference is that now I believe and feel that God is happening to me.

23. 4. Verity Consciousness:-Occurs when I finally come to realize oneness. This is when I realize that there is no such thing as God, or Divine Mind, and me. This is when I realize Christ Consciousness. This is when I realize that my most profound understanding is that it IS ME.

24. Any level of consciousness we operate in most often, is the stag of consciousness we are living in and from. But while we are living in and from any stage we can temporarily experience another level which at such a time will be said to b our state of consciousness. An example will be found in the case of Jesus who lived in the Christ (Verity) consciousness. But in

25. his Gethsemane plea “let this cup pass from me” he momentarily slipped into the victim consciousness. In the empowerment process for Effectual Prayer, conscious effort should be made by the leader to rise to the verity (Christ) consciousness.

26. What is Prayer Prayer in its simplest form is any conscious attempt to experience the presence of God. Prayer is a deliberate activity—one of seeking to recognize our oneness with God, of opening ourselves to the power of God as it moves through us in new and wonderful ways. Once this happens, however, prayer becomes something even more. As our awareness of the presence of

27. God expands, prayer becomes the experience of being part of God, of centering ourselves directly in the creative flow of the universe, of perceiving things not with human eyes or human ears or human minds but from the divinity within us. We pray not to God or for God, as something separate from us, but from that sacred presence which is our very essence …

28. Prayer is a holy time within our hearts— a time of worship, joy and thanksgiving deep inside ourselves. It is a time of lying down in green pastures, being led beside the still waters and having our souls restored. We come away from prayer renewed in body and mind and at peace with ourselves and our world.

29. 1. Webster Dictionary:- A solemn request or expression of thanks to God or to an object of worship. • 2. Ernest C. Wilson (The Great Physician):- Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire uttered or unexpressed. • 3. Frances W. Foulks(Effectual Prayer):- Every prayer to every soul represents some need that in its purest form, God is seeking to push forth into the manifest world.

30. Charles Fillmore (Revealing Word):- Prayer is communion between God and man. This communion takes place in the innermost part of man’s being. It is the only way to cleanse and perfect the consciousness and thus permanently heal the body. • Charles Fillmore (Revealing Word):- Prayer is the most highly accelerated mind action known. It steps up mental action until man’s consciousness

31. synchronizes with the Christ Mind. It is the language of spirituality. When development it makes man master in the realm of creative ideas. • Charles Fillmore (Revealing Word):- Prayer is more than supplication. It is an affirmation of Truth that eternally exists, but which has not yet come into consciousness. It comes into consciousness not by supplication but by affirmation.

32. From all these definitions we gather the following: • Prayer is a mind action that agitates the soul. • The agitation of the soul by a need or needs is a signal that God also seeks to bring that need or needs o manifestation. • Man’s part in prayer is to raise consciousness (accelerated mind action) to the highest point.

33. An effectual way of accelerating mind action (quickening) is the affirmation of Truth that eternally exits, but is yet to come into consciousness. • The highest point of the quickening process will be to Christ level.

34. Aggregating all the above, prayer can be said to be a mind action that agitates the soul of man with a sincere need, and which need that God wills to manifest for man through concentration on the good and the True thereby quickening his consciousness to the Christ level. Prayer should be a quest not a request.

35. Richard Lynch in “Know Thyself” has said ; “An electric current may contain many volts of power, yet it will not run a motor or light a lamp unless certain specific connections are made. The mental battery of Truth is charges with limitless power – the inexhaustible supply of the universe. But man must not sit inertly waiting for the current to strike him in a thunderbolt of luck.”

36. Jesus (Matthew 7: 7-8) says; “Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that askethreceiveth; and to him that knoweth it shall be opened”.

37. Affirmation Time: “I am a radiant centre of the Christ light mighty to attract my good and to radiate good to all”.

38. The Role of Feeling No man can ever agitate the soul who does not put feeling into his thoughts, words or actions. For a leader who seeks empowerment for effectual prayer, the memorizing of prayer lines can constitute a trap. Every word that is uttered would definitely involve our conscious thoughts. But not every word we speak involve our feeling. While this is not to discourage the practice of

39. memorizing lines of prayer with powerful wordings that should draw feeling of the presence of almightiness, the leader should not fall into the pit of making parrot repetitions which will yield nothing but parrot sessions for someone else.

40. Whether we know it or not, feelings are communicated to other individuals exactly the same way that words are used to convey ideas to them. Every feeling go with exact thought, whether spoken or not; but not every thought go with exact feeling. Charles Fillmore in “The Revealing Word” says that feeling is external to thought; behind every feeling or emotion there lies thought, which is its direct cause. In the creative

41. work of our thought nature, the feeling nature must be involved. To this extent that Paul Hasselbeck has said that the Law of Mind Action should be phrased better as “thoughts and feelings or thoughts/feelings held in mind produce after their kind”. He says that “this is because thoughts without feelings carry little energy and tend to have fewer effects”.

42. Methods of Prayer: • Supplication • Blessing and Benediction • Denial and Affirmation • Meditation and Contemplation • The Silence • Uplifting Thoughts, Words, and Actions • Treasure Mapping (Visualization) • Praise and Thanksgiving • Forgiveness and Love • Spirit directed attitude • Denial and Affirmation

43. Intercessory Prayer Praying for someone else is not discouraged in Unity whether or not on request. However, in praying for another, we must lovingly behold the individual as God sees him or her as one with his highest good. Rev. Felicia Blanco Searcy has said “ We don’t pray to God, we endeavour to pray from God. This is true when we

44. realize the need to rise to our highest beingness in prayer. Many startling healing works have been done through radiating thoughts of love to another. In the 17th chapter of John, Jesus first prayed for Himself, then for His apostles, and then for all who would accept salvation through Him, which prayer is extended to all generations.

45. Charles Fillmore’s seven necessary conditions for tru prayer: • God must be recognized as the Father (Source). • Oneness with the God (Source) should be acknowledge • Prayer must be made within,, “In the secret place” • The door must be locked to all thoughts and interests of the outer world.

46. The one who prays must believe that he has already received • The kingdom of God must be sought desired above all things, and sought first. • The mind must let go of any unforgiving thoughts and sense or feelings of separation from the Source.