Aloha and I'm Reverend Cindy Palus and I want to welcome you to another in the Elements of Peace series.
Today I'm going to be talking about prayer.
Prayer and meditation.
I think prayers are so valuable to release the stress and the conflict and the worries that can come in our lives.
There's so many ways to pray,
But when you're seeking to release yourself from that conflicted situation we've seen in this world,
From the divisions we've seen in this world,
From the problems that we encounter in this world,
We can always turn to prayer instead of worry.
What a great relief that you can let go of your worry and turn to God and pray.
But there's so many ways to pray.
From Matthew 11 24 in the Bible it says,
Whatever you ask for in prayer,
Believe that you have received it and it will be yours.
So can we pray for peace?
I did a whole release called Prayers for Peace with wonderful words that can bring peace to your mind.
And there is a wonderful comfort and power in prayer.
If you are in that state where you're overwhelmed or in a scary situation you'll find that it helps to take a few moments to really go into the silence,
To be quiet,
To release all that pent up whatever is coming to you with frustration and fear and ask for guidance and protection and ask for help.
I really believe God is there for you and that spark of light and love is always there within you to call upon.
When you're in awareness of your connection within,
That connection you have to God,
You can have a really peaceful conversation.
Not necessarily what we may think of as a plea or a demand,
But instead a conversation with God.
And when we have that conversation with God,
There's two things involved that we're always involved with in any conversation is what we say,
How we say it of course,
And then how we listen to the answer.
And many people will say many things in prayers,
But I wonder sometimes if they really are phrasing what they wish to say to that powerful source within in the right way.
We want to phrase our prayers,
Especially for peace,
In a peaceful way by being able to go within and be still and ask in this conversation for that release from whatever is causing us to feel not at peace,
To be able to unburden ourselves,
To let go of what is causing us to be not at peace.
The dis-ease of what happens is when you're really building up in yourself that tension and that feeling that you have that can indeed be overwhelming.
So being able to talk to God in a way that you would talk to your best friend,
And that comes from having a relationship with God.
Now do people pray when they don't have a relationship with God?
Yes,
Obviously.
There are times people's lives are threatened and they pray.
And that is definitely still there for them,
That power to connect is still felt and it's still able to be connected to the source of all.
It's a beautiful,
Powerful thing to be able to connect to that one source.
And you can feel at peace once you have connected to that source.
The other part of it is listening,
Listening after your prayer.
That listening that you can do when you go within and you are quiet and then you stop talking,
Right?
You stop talking.
You really listen with an open heart to what comes to you.
Is there a message?
Is there some help that comes?
You know,
Miracles happen every day.
There are so many miracles that have happened in my life.
I can't even,
I mean at least six or seven authentic miracles that were,
I mean,
Unbelievable that have happened.
And the thing about the answers to your prayers is they don't always come when you think they might.
Usually when we pray,
We want some immediate results.
It's like right now,
Please right now.
But sometimes that's not really the way that an answer to a prayer happens.
And when you realize that grace of just knowing you have released your conversation to God in a way that can be heard and then having the faith to know that it happened and then also learning how to be quiet and go within.
And that's where the meditation comes in.
When you go within and you listen for guidance and you find that place inside that you can get the answers.
So that prayer may only last a few minutes and yet that prayer is a pebble thrown into the sacred energy of God's infinite pool of life.
And when we need to pray and maybe it's every day,
When we need to pray,
We need to believe and have that sacred energy field open like a turning on that tap of water.
You feel that energy come.
You need to have that inner channel of energy available to go within and to make that connection to be able to receive what you need through prayer.
Ask yourself,
Can I embrace life come what may with all the good and the bad things when I learn to pray and talk to God as a friend.
This is possible.
I do this every day.
You can.
You can find peace when you know you have the perfect counselor.
And to me the perfect counselor,
Perfect life coach is God.
And you need to be able to make that inner connection,
Define the answers you need.
To be in tune with God,
It helps to have that heart to heart God relationship,
To be open,
To be humble.
And you can also talk to God and ask God the best way to communicate and pray.
Does your prayer communicate your intent?
Are you asking God for clear messages?
Maybe you might also ask for that.
Ask to allow your prayer to give you the faith,
The trust in the process,
To bring you peace.
And when you talk to that divine source as your confidant,
You talk to the creator as your beloved,
As one you love and trust and understand.
You can get the energy you need back.
Remember,
It's a two-way conversation.
It's not pleading.
It's communing.
It's communicating your heart and soul.
And you can then be attuned to the perfect energy to receive that peace that you need in life.
It is truly always a blessing to be able to talk to God,
To pray to God,
To find that inner peace.
I wrote this from prayers to peace.
In the heart of perfect peace,
There is the love of God within.
It's the simple breath of being,
The I am that I am here in.
I am that breath.
I am that love.
I am that light that it brings.
I am that very peace in being.
I am that I am presence that dwells in this now moment.
And I listen to the love that speaks and the happiness it brings.
I celebrate the blessings of being,
That fragrance of the blossoming of creation.
And I thank God for this time of prayer and meditation where there is indeed no limitations.
For I am that presence that speaks in every single heartbeat,
In every soul's pure light of being.
There is that gift of that perfect peace.
Now let's just take a couple of moments to go within,
Breathing in that perfect peace and opening up that energy of awareness so we can be aware if we are open and able to be receiving that energy of God within.
Go to that sacred place there in your heart and feel that unconditional love that brings you that perfect peace.
Breathe in that energy of unconditional love and allow it to lift you up to your soul.
And now just be still in your soul and allow yourself a sacred place to pray to God.
Be in that sacred place of your soul.
What would you ask and talk to God about in your prayer?
Take the time,
Take a moment to just go within and find what it is you need help with.
And have an intimate,
Deep conversation with God.
Take some time and some moments and talk to God right now.
Go to that very source.
And if you need to ask to find a way to release any worries,
Do that.
If you need to find a way to find peace within,
Ask for that.
And now take some moments to just be a channel,
A chalice that receives the messages back that you need from God.
Breathing in,
Receive that energy.
And release anything of doubt.
Breathing in,
Accept that energy that receives the answers you need.
Breathing in,
Take some time to thank God for being there for you when you need that help.
And breathing in,
Believe that energy is there and know that you can build this connection and that relationship to God every day.
Allow yourself to be in that presence,
To accept that love and that light and that perfect peace.
And thank God for this wonderful energy,
This beautiful peace within and that acceptance of knowing you can communicate in prayer with God.
Amen.
And as we say in Hawai'i,
Amama,
Amama,
ʻūanoa,
The prayer is free.
And we say that because once we pray,
We release it.
We know that prayer is heard.
We need not worry.
Trust and it is so.
So be it and so it is.
Thank you so much for being here in this sacred communication of prayer with us together and God's presence right there within you.
God bless you always.
