If you are among those who desire more money, better relationships, an interesting job, or any number of things that better your life, and have prayed for positive change with no results, you are 
not alone. Many people feel disconnected or distracted during prayer. What is the purpose of prayer? How do you get centered? What should you think about and why? To whom should you pray?
Emmet Fox, a New Thought minister from the 1940’s, taught that focusing on God first produces results. Emmet’s spiritual essay The Seven Main Aspects of God from the book Alter Your Life helped many people understand their relationship to God, and how to tune into God on a regular basis.
By discussing Emmet’s ideas in this 7-part series, I’m going to help you put your energy in the right place, so you can learn to pray successfully.
Understanding God
God seems infinite and abstract. We’ve heard in many wisdom traditions that God is omnipresent, eternal, and ever-lasting. These qualities, of course, reinforce that God is unlimited in scope. But how do we relate to ideas that are truly undefinable? The Bible says God is spirit [1] and worshiping him should be in spirit and truth. But to have this close relationship, and allow God to help direct our lives, we must understand God’s nature.
This teaching helps you understand the nature of God, as a form of prayer. Daily prayer leads you closer to the life you wish to create. Thinking of God, and considering his qualities and nature, IS prayer. And that is how you solve your problems.
Emmet taught that there were seven main aspects of God. These are fundamental and timeless truths. They will never change. Powerful prayer that solves a problem, or makes a demonstration, involves thinking about these truths. You must identify these truths in others and in your situation, and affirm the same qualities in yourself. You can meditate on one or more of these truths every day. When you do, and know what you prayed for will come in its own time, its own way and in a form that is right for you, then you are working correctly with the energies that constitute the universe. You are putting yourself into alignment with the power that produces change. This is what is meant by ‘let go and let God,’ or surrendering yourself to a higher power.
The First Aspect: Life
God is life. Life is all around us. It is evidence by people, animals, vegetation, and the ecological system. Life is everywhere, in you, and in everyone. Everything is in a state of vibration and movement. There is energy everywhere. Your existence is life. All life is God, because we cannot be outside of an infinite being, such as God. God is all-inclusive; it is impossible to be outside of life itself. Your life is God’s life. It is consistent, and goes on forever. God works, breathes, and realizes his being in you and through you. It is empowering to know that God experiences life through you.
In our world, it seems everyone believes in sickness, disease, or aging. If you think of God as life everlasting, those limiting beliefs become false, although we may see evidence of our own aging, or death, it is not true. Life everlasting was one of Jesus’ main messages. Life is eternal, and God is life itself.
Realizing Life
To ‘realize’ life, means to embrace life. Know that life is in you. It emanates from you like a beacon of light. It projects everywhere. You express life in your everyday actions, thoughts, and words. You can choose to express youth, vitality, energy, or negativity, doom, and conflict. When you celebrate being alive, and everlasting life, you are recognizing that God is life.
Joy is an expression of life. Joy is inclusive, positive, forward moving, and expansive. When you delight in life, you express joy. When you are optimistic about life, you vibrate at a very high level, and raise other people’s vibrations around you. You become lighter. This is attractive and inspires people. It is a state of awareness that attracts goodness. Life is God who is experiencing himself though you. Joy is loving engagement in life, which is a very beautiful expression. Joy is experiencing the life that is in front of you, no matter where you are or who you are with. Being joyful means to dwell in the present moment and rejoice in your aliveness as a human being.
Practice The Presence of God as Life
The next time you are in a public place like a shopping mall, subway, or store, declare the presence of God as Life in all who are present. Recognize that life dwells in everyone; life is endless and limitless. I do this all the time on airplanes. For a few minutes, I contemplate God as life, and seek to internalize that quality in myself and everyone on the airplane. You will see a difference in the energy level. It will feel happier and lighter. Try it.
If someone is sick, depressed, discouraged, or struggling, think about God as Life. Relax your body, and quietly invite the Great Universal Power to come into your mind and body. Be receptive and still. Close your eyes, and give your attention to God as Life. Feel that you know this aspect about the nature of God is true, rather than saying to yourself, “I believe.”
God is More Important than Your Problem
When we bring an issue to a higher power, we must first understand that when we dwell on our problem more than we dwell on the nature of God, nothing will ever be fixed.
If I dwell on a complex situation with people and relationships, it doesn’t change. Every effort I make to fix a problem results in another organized task list. Asking God to help begins to realign people and relationships. With consistent positive thinking, affirming the best outcome, and projecting love I can get more work done. Recognizing that God is bigger and more important than my problem is a more powerful approach to prayer. It removes me from ‘dwelling’ and puts the energy where it needs to go, which is contemplating the nature of God first.
You have heard spiritual or religious people say that you are powerless to change anything. They say you must ‘turn your power over to God’ and ‘surrender your situation to God.’ For many, it means that you are giving up control of your life, and placing in the hands of spirit who knows better than you. Emmet’s wisdom suggests that we turn to God to contemplate his nature before using our time and energy to dwell on our problems. So, when you find yourself feeling stuck on a problem, or dwelling in negativity, change your thoughts. Think about God’s qualities first.
Daily Practice: Life
- When the complexity of your problem feels overwhelming, turn your attention to God. Don’t analyze your problem and make a task list to solve it. You cannot solve your problem directly by will power. Do not dwell on discouragement, depression, or negativity.
- Find a quiet place. Take a few moments to think of God as Life. See that life and God are the same. Know that life runs through every aspect of you and your situation or problem.
- Declare the presence of God as Life in all those present, and in you.
- Feel a sense of gratitude for being part of something greater.
Successful Prayer
Be joyful when you embrace life. If you, or another individual is depressed or discouraged, turn back to this aspect and claim that the presence of God is at work in your life. Know this quality is with you always, and works through you, and through others. Claim it.
Be disciplined about contemplating the nature of God instead of dwelling on your problem. If you want to change a negative situation or problem, change your thoughts first. All else will follow!
In Love and Light,
© Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D. and The Goddess Network, Inc., 2017. All Rights Reserved.
For more affirmations, read The Women’s Book of Empowerment: 323 Affirmations that Change Everyday Problems into Moments of Potential.
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