© 2005 Javier García-Alcaide
© 2005 Urantia Association of Spain
Introduction by Javier García-Alcaide
The introduction focused on chapters 8 (La oración como experiencia personal) and 9 (Condiciones para que la oración sea eficaz) of paper 91. These are the chapters that best summarize the characteristics of the sentence.
Prayer can take multiple forms, but if it is true it will always be an act of communion with the Creator.
Today’s man is baffled by the idea of talking about his business with God in a personal way, and he shouldn’t be. Prayer is an objective gesture that puts us in touch with some powerful objective spiritual realities. The words with which one prays are not the most important thing: God responds to the attitude of the soul, not to words.
Prayer is not a technique to escape from conflicts, but rather a stimulus to grow in the midst of conflicts. We must pray for values and for our growth.
The conditions for effective prayer are:
Some find it difficult to use prayer, because they think that we should search within ourselves for what we ask of the Father. This is a subject that seems “hard” to those of us who have been “scalded” by institutionalized religions, since we tend to confuse “prayer” with “prayer.”
Prayer is a prayer of the soul. More than asking for something to come to us by magic, we must ask for the ability to get what we want.
Prayer means communion with God, and it should be an essential tool for everyone who relates to God. Prayer is power; therefore in a group it is much more effective.
Prayer implies communication with the Adjuster, but it induces us to look in two directions: on the one hand, to the reserves of the subconscious and, on the other, to the limits of the superconscious, where the Adjuster dwells. In both the subconscious and the superconscious we have two important reserves of help.
The act of praying is more important than what is asked for in prayer. One of our objectives should be to make the prayer continue. The more we pray, the more we will perfect our prayer and the more effective it will be. There will already be someone who will take care that the corresponding personalities act and that they move the appropriate springs. God does not work alone; he works with other people, including mortals like us.
In the Book there is a lot of insistence on prayer; perhaps it is because prayer strengthens the spirit by facilitating contact with the divine. When we pray we build a creative thought.
When we pray we show our faith in God. The sentence could be defined as “a monologue of two.” Prayer is a meeting point with God.
The human being is a reflection of what humanity is. We begin to ask out of sheer necessity: first out of material need, later out of mental needs, and finally out of spiritual need. The human being feels helpless and powerless in the universe, that’s why he needs to go to someone to ask for help. As the human being matures, prayer continues to be a request to the Almighty Being, but it evolves into a monologue/dialogue from son to Father.
It does not matter who is asked, but the interior attitude when praying. We always receive answers to our prayers. We must, however, leave behind our “armours”, our pride, to face prayer with a humble attitude.
Before addressing group prayer (p.998) we must improve our individual prayer. Group prayer has a multiplying effect of effectiveness. When carrying it out we should not be afraid of ridicule or get carried away by prejudices. Sometimes we fall into the temptation of intellectualizing the Book too much, and for this reason we are afraid to institutionalize its content. Group prayer has a great socializing force, since it gives transcendence to the moment of prayer.
The document that talks about the Eternal Son talks about kindred spirits, united by spiritual gravity, with whom group prayer is even more effective.