If you ever feel like your prayers are going nowhere, insist on progress.
Prayer should be expansive, taking thought to new and inspired places that reveal bigger and wider views of reality than has ever been noted before.
Rote prayer is not prayer. It’s a repetition of truths already understood and known. It’s retracing ground that has already been claimed and possessed.
The progressive thinker is launching into new territory of Mind that has never been explored before. He is looking for fresh insight and new perspective that reveal more of the infinitude of God and how it resolves whatever the issue is at hand seeking resolution.
Strive for fresh inspiration when you pray. Don’t settle for a ho-hum recital of spiritual truths that fail to spark a new fire of spiritual exaltation burning within.
Jesus Christ promised, “Seek, and you will find” (Matt. 7:7). To seek, is to be proactive. It’s a drive to get somewhere new.
Don’t settle for less than the best. Insist on progress when in prayer. Seek healing Truth and find it.
Expect to end up in a better place than you began, and you will get there.
Spiritual progress—straight on
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/1vtyik1rrvg?s=e
Thank you Martine, for the related article. The spirited Chesapeake Retriever had only one passion and goal.
And a straight line to pursue it. Undaunted by obstacles like height or water or thicket his goal was foremost.
Being an explorer gives fresh ambition to find and discover, rewarding with new experiences.
And there are so many different places to discover never before seen wonders.
Moody’s article was inspiring. Evan’s is an eye opener this morning.
Thank you all for joining on an expedition of these hidden kinds of spiritual wonders.
Thank you for sharing this article! Dogs are such a wonderful expression of joy, commitment and unlimited achievement. Every moment brings them joy in life. We are going to eat breakfast! We get to go outside! We get to go for a walk! I found a stick! You have a ball! Water!!! We get to go hiking/camping/play in snow/swim in water! We get to run free in the beautiful wilderness! Joy, joy, joy…always expressing joy! Always ready for the next adventure even though not knowing what it will be.
Thank you Evan! I will strive for that “spark of new fire within” when praying. I will “insist on progress” and “seek until I find”! You are such a good cheerleader. And thank you Kirsten. I’m a foster dog mom and related to your comment. I think it was related to the article mentioned so will try to get back to that. Happy days everyone. (=
And the unconditional love expressed in those eyes when they look at you..
At first, I thought the dog’s action was just the same as reciting the same prayer over and over…repeating the same action again and again. But then I thought of perseverance, joy, skill and realized practice is an important component of seeking and understanding. Patience must have her perfect work. Thank you for connecting my thoughts.
Thank you! Just the nudge I needed!
Thank you so much for these thoughts on progress.
“Rote prayer is not prayer” we must look for fresh inspiration. We can not go back to repeating the same erroneous beliefs that we already have demonstrated .
No, going back only forward. Seek the truth!
Thank you Martine for the helpful article.
Thanks Evan
I find it helpful and progressive for my thinking to always take notes when I’m listening to a lecture or a talk online or in person. Then I re-read them later or even add them to a Word Doc. under a heading of whatever the talk was about or how it might be helpful to me..then when I need to pray about a particular thing constructively, I have my notes to get started with!
I am so blessed to follow this blog daily, but I seldom post my gratitude, so I would like to say a huge “thank you” to Evan and to the dear family of readers who also share their wonderful ideas and thoughts.
I had a little light moment this morning and made up a new Beatitude: “Blessed are the Truth-makers for they are changing the universe.”
I reasoned that if we could be peace-makers we could also be Truth-makers. In SH 255:1 we read,” Eternal Truth is changing the universe.”and our prayers do make a difference. Much love to all.
Beautiful, Barbara , Thank you, brilliantly inspiring to put to good use !
Excellent new Beatitude!
Thank you!❤️
Barbara,
I’m going to make an insert and put it right in Matthew 5. Thank you dear Truth Maker!
Dear Evan, this is so helpful and important. I realize that I’ve been leaning on the tried and true for some time now. Thank you so much for this valuable kick-start!
Evan really needed this “kickstart” thank you for all you do and thanks to the Spirtview “family” for support
Thank you Evan and Martine. I sometimes find myself in prayer and certain words start showing up repeatedly. I stop and acknowledge that I’m not really praying, just saying words. Then I continue but with fresh inspiration.
“ The progressive thinker is launching into new territory of Mind that has never been explored before. He is looking for fresh insight and new perspective that reveal more of the infinitude of God and how it resolves whatever the issue is at hand seeking resolution.”
Sounds like fun! Reaching out to God for ideas. Searching JSH-online for articles that share new perspectives. Searching Mary Baker Eddy’s many writings to learn more about Truth and Love. What do I have to gain? Freedom and what real love is.
My guideline is if my prayers so far has not resulted in me being more loving, humble, grateful and gracious, principal and beneficial for the world doing more for justice then I need to persevere until I do improve those ways. And the same criteria I taught my children to use for their action and in action, words and interaction: be kind, honest, fair, responsible, and helpful. Prayer should improve me and help me improve our world to bless others. What is this prayer helping me better understand, love, and better live?
Thank you Evan for these inspiring words. By coincidence I am presently dealing with a rather serious reoccurring health issue . Usually my initial efforts involve praying using familiar truths. While this can be comforting it tends to be uninspiring. The suggestions in this blog will be very helpful – expansion, new territories, fresh insights, new perspectives, realizing God’s infinitude to solve any problem, etc, etc. Thank you so much.
From the lesson;
“Because of human ignorance of the divine Principle, Love, the Father of all is represented as a corporeal creator; hence men recognize themselves as merely physical, and are ignorant of man as God’s image or reflection and of man’s eternal incorporeal existence.“
13:25–29
We often talk about overcoming fear but what about overcoming ignorance of God?
I just love how you have equated prayerful progress with healing! Of course! So grateful to have this stated so clearly and to be reminded of it.
Excellent idea. Thank you, Evan.
Evan I loved hearing that our prayers can “spark a new fire of spiritual exaltation burning within,” – that make me think of the SpiritView from a few days ago on Daily Exercise, when you said we should guard against “spiritual flabbiness.” I see your thought is infused with ideas of vitality and progress and new energy, so appropriate for springtime and the reawakening of things that seemed dormant over the winter.
Glad to hear we can “insist” on progress. At times I thought that word insist meant I was asserting human will, but starting to see that it means we don’t have to just lay down and accept anything less than God’s highest truth for each of us. “To put up with something that God didn’t give you, is to put up with a mistake.” This quote is from an excellent interview/article with Marian English CSB on Sentinel Audio Chats that LP shared with us here a few days ago. https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/ro286fzp80
Love to all!
All I can add is
❤️WOW❤️
Thank you Evan
Thank you all!
Love
Excellent insights everybody! I was reminded when reading about insisting on progress, that Jesus had at least two parables about being importunate. The widow kept after the unjust judge, and the neighbor kept knocking until the door was opened.
So if my sincere prayer seems to be unanswered, I can ask, and keep on asking, seek, and keep on seeking, knock snd keep on knocking until the door opens….(Matt. 7:7 Amplified Classic translation).
Good to know!
Thank you Evan for your inspired promptings for us to stretch our prayers and expand our lives. Periodically I love to listen to Lawrence Doyle’s talks on you tube, who speaks so brilliantly about the world of quantum physics from a Christian Science perspective. How Christian Science thinkers are at the forefront of consciousness evolution, consciousness expansion,– of mortal mind outgrowing itself. And how healing is an awakening from the dream of matter.
True prayer is an invitation to drop a sense of limited matter identity, and explore the ever expanding realms of divine Mind, where “multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible.” S&H 264
“Insist on progress!” This is extremely helpful. Thank you very much!
What an inspiring and uplifting blog today. Thanks to all who have contributed, and especially to Martine for the William Moody article, and Rose from New York for the talk with Mariam English. Though Marian’s interview lasted over an hour, it was an hour well spent. Progress, or the seeming lack of progress, is a subject very dear to me. And the thought that came to me was just love, love, love – all those around me and myself!
Lori, grateful to hear you enjoyed the Marian English piece. And totally with you on “just love, love, love – all those around me and myself!” Blessings to you.
As I learn more and more about prayer, thinking in the way of the attached quote helps take personal pressure off my prayers (are they good? bad? effective?) and instead helps me realize we reflect God’s thoughts: “In the human sense of things, there seem to be many finite minds, each with its own perspective and self-interest. But if divine Mind is in fact the only true intelligence, then everything that truly exists, including man (meaning everyone), is an idea in this one Mind, and reflects God’s thoughts.”
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/1gpk56faqyw
Thanks Evan & all to INSIST on progress in prayer. I feel like stamping my foot with determination to insist on progress, even in all aspects of our lives.
This has opened my eyes somewhat Evan. We often have insights into looking at the world around us in a different way, caused by a variety of reasons or experiences , happy or sad. But to think of prayer in a more expansive way I find thought provoking. Dropping any material end game for an enhanced spiritual perspective… that’s a ‘wow’. Thank you❣️
I tried always the last years to listen and to pray deeply and not just say the words. I think that one can also humbly ask God to teach us to pray aright which results in certain progress and better understanding. The Holy Bible says that if we ask our earthly Father for bread, He will not give us a stone. How much more will our heavenly Father-Mother God give us what we need – our daily bread! Our daily bread from God is progress in understanding, I think. Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health that “progress is a law of God …” I understand that a “law of God” is a fixed matter. So also progress is fixed and goes on and on surely meeting all our needs. That’s comforting.
How grateful am I that I may learn to understand the Truth in the Christ-Science of being! Thank you dearly, Evan that you help us on this small and narrow way to a clearer spiritual understanding!
Am also grateful for the links to the articles we receive here so lovingly each day. They are very helpful, too! 🙂