January 31, 2014 on 12:00 pm
This is in answer to a question I received yesterday from someone looking for a particular job and wanting to know if his prayers would be answered.
Praying Hands
I have suggested many prayer statues that are known to fulfill certain wishes, such as Ganesh for overcoming obstacles, Lakshmi for prosperity, Shiva for meditative awareness, and so on. I have relied greatly upon tradition and religious belief that if you pray to a certain god or goddess, you might have a better than average chance to have your prayers answered.
But as with everything else, this belief in a higher deity who answers prayers is complex. Therefore, I have consulted people wiser than myself who are more experienced in these complexities.
A minister I spoke with yesterday told me about the concept of free will and the fact that a supreme deity does not just answer prayers, but wishes people to do the best they can first and not just expect wish fulfillment. In fact, just as a parent might attempt to encourage his/her child to gather some skills that would enable him to fulfill his dreams, so too, the divine, or a higher deity, acts as a parent.
Another person steeped in wisdom prayer that I consulted told me that it was perhaps even better to pray for divine will in your life and then perhaps the strength to surrender to whatever comes. What that does for someone is cultivate strength and patience in one’s life, neither of which is easy to learn, but once gained, can serve us well. Other religious persons have suggested to me that focusing on one’s goal and doing everything one can to make one’s wishes come true is an essential ingredient.
So what I have come to understand after having these discussions with many religious and spiritual people is that you must do everything in your power to accomplish your desire and then perhaps be accepting of what befalls you. In spiritual life, it is sometimes acceptance and faith that are wonderful attributes to develop.
Sometimes, as with my own experience, I have found that whenever my wishes are not granted, that I have been directed to something that fulfills me even more. Sometimes we think that we know what is best for us and what will fulfill us, and in the end it is the unexpected thing that occurs that can be life changing.
When I was younger, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. As things happened, that was not to be. Now in retrospect and knowing myself much better, I see how that would have been a mistake and that I am much more suited to the life of a writer and counselor.
In any case, I am offering a prayer on your behalf that you get the job you wish. Good luck to you. Spiritual Explorer
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