© 2020 Ann Biggs and Peter Laurence
© 2020 The Urantia Book Fellowship
by Ann Biggs and Peter Laurence
Our York, Pennsylvania group recently joined up with Stevie Shaefer’s
Alexandria, Virginia group for certain Sundays each month. Between the two groups, we have a meeting each Sunday. While studying Paper 196, I voiced my feeling of being overwhelmed with UB 196:0.10, Jesus’ prayer as “an expression of spiritual attitude."
The next day, Peter Laurence developed a series of 24 or so questions on this, we discussed each at length on the phone, and then I put those concepts and discussion points on some illustrated slides for a workshop on one of the Sundays. It was thought provoking and very useful actually, looking at how we can treat prayer and communion with God similar to the way Jesus did. We’ve done a couple other workshops for the New York Society before, so it was pretty fluid. He’s fantastic to work with; very good with words and can think “on the spot,” whereas I generally like to work quietly between our meetings, then bring what I’ve created to our next session.
¶ Definition Of Prayer
UB 196:0.10 Jesus never prayed as a religious duty. To him prayer was
- a sincere expression of spiritual attitude - What is a “spiritual attitude?”
- a declaration of soul loyalty - Loyalty to what?
- a recital of personal devotion - Devotion to what?
- an expression of thanksgiving - Thanksgiving for what?
- an avoidance of emotional tension - How does that work?
- a prevention of conflict, an exaltation of intellection - How does that work?
- an ennoblement of desire - What does ennobled desire look like?
- a vindication of moral decision - Why do our moral decisions need vindication?
- an enrichment of thought - What does that feel like?
- an invigoration of higher inclinations - What does that feel like?
- a consecration of impulse - consecration to what?
- a clarification of viewpoint - How does that work?
- a declaration of faith - How do we declare our faith?
- a transcendental surrender of will - What does that feel like?
- a sublime assertion of confidence - Confidence in what?
- a revelation of courage - How does prayer reveal courage?
- the proclamation of discovery - Discovery of what?
- a confession of supreme devotion - Devotion to what? See #3.
- the validation of consecration - See number eleven.
- a technique for the adjustment of difficulties - How does that work?
- the mighty mobilization of the combined soul powers to withstand all human tendencies toward selfishness, evil, and sin - How does that work?