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WHY ARE OUR PRAYERS SOMETIMES NOT ANSWERED?
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Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prashanti
Nilayam. Today we would like to turn your attention to the
subject of prayer. Many people have potent experiences through
the avenue of prayer, while others seem to get no positive
outcome. What might be the mysterious mechanism behind prayer,
and how can we explain such contradictory results? Many
religions and wisdom traditions over the ages have declared that
all prayers are answered; Bhagawan Baba likewise says this is
so. But how can this be, one protests, when so many boons we
fervently pray for do not seem to be granted?
First of all, to be effective, a prayer must be sincere.
Consulting a dictionary, we find sincere defined as “genuine,
real” and “free from hypocrisy.” Baba has noted that sometimes
our prayers are no more than play acting. Perhaps he means that
though we may be crying out to the Creator to help us, in our
heart of hearts – our core convictions about life – we’re not
convinced that God loves us and that we are worthy of His grace.
Baba also states that the universe always says, “Yes, yes, yes,”
to us, so if within ourselves we are holding to a deep
subconscious belief that contradicts our pleas, how can we
expect our prayer to be effective? In that scenario, we are
living in a state of hypocrisy, saying one thing while secretly
believing another. The great Masters and Avatars who come to
Earth as vehicles for divine energy do not force their will on
us. Opening up to God’s love is our job, so if due to
low self-esteem or other psychological conditions we cannot free
our hearts and accept the love they offer, the circuit doesn’t
get completed. In this case, it is not God turning a deaf ear to
us, but we ourselves who are blocking the blessings we are
yearning for. Our part in the process was pointed out by Jesus
Christ thousands of years ago. When people praised him for the
miraculous healings they received, he declared it was by their
own faith that they were healed, meaning that they were ready to
receive so their prayers for health could be fulfilled.
Another point to consider is that serious illness and other
trials may be karmic in nature, meaning we ourselves have
created the circumstances we are facing and they can teach us
lessons which are crucial to our spiritual growth. In such
cases, our ultimate good is better served by going through the
karmic process and reaping the insights it will bring us. Since
the true goal of life is self-realization and liberation, why
would God interfere in that process?
The factor of time must also be added to the mix. It’s easy to
recognize this when a child whines for something it is not ready
for, like the five-year-old who wants to drive the car. Like big
children, we don’t always know what’s best for us or when we
should have it. Sai Baba has stated sometimes we don’t get what
we ask for because something better is being held for us. In one
account, Bhagawan Baba told a woman He would heal her just like
that, and then snapped His fingers three times. Twenty years
later He came in a dream, snapped His fingers three times and
she was healed.
Then there is dharma. We are born into this world to play a
specific role in the Lord’s play. In the Gita, Krishna discusses
swa-dharma, the individual’s path of right action and says it is
better to fail at our swa-dharma than to succeed at another’s.
If a prayer is misguided in that we are pursuing something not
suited for us, it may be best it is not fulfilled as we wish, as
doing so might delay the day we awaken to our true dharmic role.
For example, the ego might crave a certain job because of the
pay and prestige, while on a soul level we are seeking work in
harmony with our inner nature and a way to serve others as well
as support ourselves. We humans are complex beings, and life is
about getting to know oneself on every level.
An article in New Realities magazine in May of 1990
entitled The Power of Prayer; Old Approach, New Wonders,
written by Larry Dossey, MD, described some fascinating
experiments conducted by an organization called Spindrift. They
used sprouting seeds as a biological medium to measure the
effects of prayer. When two groups of identical seeds were
placed side by side and one was prayed over and the other was
not, the prayed for group always yielded more shoots. The
results were reproducible and consistent. When the seeds were
stressed by adding saltwater, simulating a health crisis, the
difference between the two groups was even more striking.
Different types of seeds and different types of stress produced
the same results: prayer became more effective the worse the
situation got. When different control groups were prayed over
for varied amounts of time, the germination count was
proportional: more prayer equaled more sprouts. They also found
those experienced at prayer could produce greater results than a
novice. This suggests prayer is something you can learn and get
better at.
There are two basic types of prayer: directed and nondirected.
Directed prayer is when you have a clear image in mind – that
good paying job for instance – or use visualization techniques
to produce a specific outcome, such as healing an illness.
Nondirected prayer is when you release your personal agenda and
ask for the highest good in the situation or use the classic Thy
Will Be Done approach. When the Spindrift researchers compared
them, both worked, but the nondirected technique was more
powerful and often twice as effective. This would seem to
indicate that when we step out of the way, more can come
through. Trying to control the results through our concept of
what’s best merely places a limit on what can happen.
Lastly, in a conversation with Dr. John S. Hislop, Bhagawan Baba
explained prayer should not be equated with begging, and though
the divine is aware of our needs, it is still our duty to
approach God and ask for those needs to be met. He used the
analogy of a mother who knows her child must have milk to
survive but only gives it when the baby cries. We should never
feel ashamed to pray, for it is not only OK to ask, it is
required. And should we find ourselves to be so fortunate as to
have no pressing needs or difficulties in our lives, then Baba
says we should pray for peace.
We hope this small piece cleared a lot of doubts in your mind
about Prayer. If you still have any queries or would like to us
to address any other issues in the realm of spirituality and
practicing values, please free to write to us at
h2h@radiosai.org. Thank
you very much for being with us these few minutes.
Jai Sai Ram.
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