Faith Is a Call to Prayer; Prayer Is a Call to Faith
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Salt and Light
Bible Verse & Affirmation for November
by Rev Dinah Pemberton
Rays of One Light: Weekly Commentaries on the Bible and The Bhagavad Gita
Faith Is a Call to Prayer; Prayer Is a Call to Faith
Truth is one and eternal. Realize oneness with it in your deathless Self, within. The following commentary is based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapters 7 and 21, we read:
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. . . . Verily I say unto you, if you have faith, and doubt not…if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Paramhansa Yogananda showed by his own example that prayer is a power, provided we believe deeply in that power. When our thoughts and feelings are strongly focused and then united in growing awareness to the Divine Presence within, they can bring even seemingly unrealistic wishes to fulfillment. When Paramhansa Yogananda was in charge of his school in Ranchi, India, he took the boys on occasional outings to the surrounding countryside.
“There was a waterfall not far away,” he told Swami Kriyananda, “where I took them sometimes. It was dangerous to cross there. But I would cry out to the boys, ‘Do you believe in God?’ ‘Yes!’ they would shout back enthusiastically. And so we always crossed in safety.
“Years later, after I’d gone to America, one of the teachers tried to do the same thing, but he lacked spiritual power. One of the boys slipped on a rock and was drowned.”
Thus, the Master explained, belief alone is not enough. It must be united to one-pointed awareness, which leads to Self-realization. The Bhagavad Gita, in the sixth Chapter, underscores the necessity for such one-pointed concentration:
Whenever the mind, fickle and restless, wanders off from its concentration, let the meditating yogi withdraw it resolutely, spurning every distraction (no matter how alluring!), and bring it back again and again under the control of the Self.
Thus, through holy Scripture, God has spoken to mankind.
Whispers From Eternity
56. Make me Silent, that I may eloquently converse with Thee
Wandering through forests of incessant searching, I arrived at the mystery door which conceals Thy presence. I knocked loudly on this door of silence, with persistent blows of faith. At last, the door opened and I beheld Thee, resting, on Thy altar of glorious visions.
I stood with restless gaze, waiting for Thee to speak. Thy creation-making voice was inaudible. At last a deep stillness stole upon me and taught me in whispers the language of angels. With the lisping voice of my new-born freedom I tried to speak. Suddenly the lights in Thy temple wrote brilliantly in letters of light.
In my little chamber of quietness I am ever at rest. I never speak now, but with the voice of silence. Through my silence, O Divine Lover, converse Thou eloquently with me.
Paramhansa Yogananda
Inspiration from The Rays of One Light
Is Faith a Call to Prayer?
We will take these sacred words into our meditation together for deep reflection and contemplation. But firstly, we will listen to some beautiful music by Swami Kriyananda, “Vieni presto, Gesu”.
Vieni presto, Gesu
Listen to Vieni presto, Gesu
Reflect, Meditate and Listen to Instrumental Music
Reflect
Meditate
Refection & Inspiration from The Rays of the One Light
Peace Sangha,
Today, I felt inspired to change the first part of our topic for the week by placing “Is” at the beginning, so it now reads: “Is Faith a Call to Prayer?” instead of “Faith Is a Call to Prayer”
This inspiration and question came from a powerful experience I had on Friday. I had an experience where I felt a strong surge of powerful energy flow through me, it felt as though God or an angel had placed me directly in front of a professional who was being attacked. Where I instinctively stood up to protect him in my role as a Minister and a friend.
Since then, I have been reflecting on why God chose me, out of all the others, to place His faith in me during that moment and time of crisis. To be honest, I would say that my faith at that point was small to have been able to manage such a situation on my own. So I was surprisingly taken aback.
I have been pondering was my faith in that moment an active form of prayer, or was it a simple, genuine expression of my love for truth? I find myself questioning how can some people treat others in this cruel way. Despite these thoughts, this powerful experience has taught me to trust even more in God's unwavering faith in me and His belief in my potential.
I have come to understand that His call is not just a simple invitation to have faith and pray, but also a call to embrace and embody courage, deepen my trust, and place complete faith and hope in divine guidance, especially during moments when we forget the way, when the path forward feels unclear, uncertain, and challenging in every way.
A Prayer for Faith
Loving and gracious God, in moments of fear and uncertainty, you call us to stand firm in faith and courage, which we thank you for. Fill our hearts with your peace and strength, that we may be instruments of your love and protection to those in need. Help us to trust in your divine guidance, even when the way is unclear. May your divine presence inspire us to act with compassion, nonviolence, courage, faith, peace and hope.
Aum, Peace Amen