Minister and author, Michael Bernard Beckwith, teaches a prayer process that has really helped guide my communication. Instead of prayer being a one-way street, he sets up a process for communication being a two-way street. He also offers suggestions for how to ready yourself to receive more blessings.
Here are some thoughts on prayer and his prayer process:
1. Prayer is how we communicate with God.
Prayer is the attention of the heart, and what we give the attention of our heart to matters deeply, because we become what we pay attention to. While some of our prayers are intentional, even our thoughts are prayers.
Most formal definitions of prayer speak to petitions, a request to do something. However, this isn't necessarily the best way to communicate with God. Instead, consider asking God an empowering question.
Examples of empowering questions are ... What's trying to emerge in my life?, What's my purpose?, What lesson am I learning?. Disempowering questions sound like this … What should I do?, What's wrong with me?, Why is this happening to me?.
2. Meditation is how God communicates with us.
Being still and turning the volume down allows us to hear the still, small voice of God guiding us. Have faith that by being still you will hear his guidance. Meditation opens us up to receiving the guidance in many ways. It causes us to be present ... to be vibrationally aligned with our Creator. As we practice, we’ll notice that we are more present and aware of synchronous events, words of wisdom spoken through another person, an intuitive feeling, or even a message in a dream.
3. Be Vibrationally Ready to Receive
You are a vibrational being. Drawing into yourself all the time the vibration that is most like what you are putting out. You cannot have what you're not willing to become vibrationally ... being in alignment is key.
Let go of resistance and be in alignment with the blessing that’s coming by asking "what if" questions and by visualizing. By asking "what if" questions and visualizing, you are becoming vibrationally ready to receive the blessing. If you come from a place of I want, I want, I want, then that will only create more want and it will block you from receiving your blessing.
Start asking "what if" questions..."What if all my needs were met, what would I be doing in my life?", "What if everything is really working together for my good?", "What if all of the bad things that happened in my life are leading me to activating some great potential?", "What if God is really on my side?" When you start asking "what if" questions, small miracles will start happening in your life.
Begin to see, to visualize, the kind of life that you wish to live. Begin to talk about it, to write about it, to dream about it. Talk about the vision more than you talk about your problems. Give it energy, pay it attention.
I invite you to pray, meditate, and visualize a few minutes daily using empowering questions and “what if” questions and notice what shifts happen in your life.