Prayer and Release

It came to me a few years ago that people who are healthy, happy and feel good about themselves do not find it necessary to behave badly toward others or treat others badly.  About that same time I also discovered  that as long as I'm involved with a thing, it stays with me because I'm still involved with it. For example, say there's something troubling me I wish would leave me alone. I discovered that as long as I'm trying to push something out of my life - a habit, for instance, or perhaps a pesky individual - as long as I am trying to "push" it out of my life, I still have my hands on it, and as long as I have my hands on it, it's still mine and I still have it. Another example is that as long as I am embattled with a thing - a person, an idea, a habit - as long as I am "fighting" it,  I keep it in my life by that very involvement, like Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby.  Some might relate to "giving the problem a room rent-free in my head." If I'm dwelling on a thing, embattled with it, and/or trying to push it out of my life, I am involved with it, and it stays with me. I discovered a way to release unproductive habits, troublesome people, and things that have outlived their usefulness to me.


First, about People. Follows a great prayer. I wish I could say I invented it, but I did not. I did, however, adapt it to this form. This prayer can be used in dealing with difficult people, people you don't like, people you quite frankly might wish would simply go away, but it's also a wonderful prayer for people you love and care deeply about, because this prayer asks for them to have what you'd like for yourself, what everyone wants, really - to enjoy health, happiness and prosperity. It goes like this (the name of the person you're praying for goes in the blanks):


     "God, be with ________ .  Let ________ be aware of Your Presence. I pray that Your Will be done in ________ 's life. I pray that ________ may enjoy Health, Happiness and Prosperity. Thy Will Be Done. I bless ________ with love and I release (him or her)"  


I pray this prayer regularly for people I love dearly, obviously because I care for them an want the best for them. But I also pray this same prayer for the difficult people I encounter, people I don't like, the real stinkers. 


Why, you wonder, would anyone pray such a loving prayer for a stinker?


It's because people who are healthy and happy and feel good about themselves do not find it necessary to behave badly or to treat others badly and I know that anyone who is consistently snippy, vindictive, hateful, cruel, complaining, manipulative, controlling, or practices any other sort of dysfunctional interpersonal unpleasantness - such a person is not entirely healthy, is not happy, and does not feel good about themselves. I know that if such a person can enjoy health, happiness and prosperity that they may begin to feel better about life in general and about themselves and when they are feeling better in general, they will not find it necessary to behave badly where I am concerned. I bless the person with love and release them because exactly how this prayer manifests in their lives is none of my business, and as long as I have my hand on it, it's still in my life. Bless with love and release. Let God do His job.


Notice the phrase asks that they may enjoy health, happiness and prosperity. I state it that way because most people actually have a relative degree of decent health, plenty to be happy about, if only they'd see it, and some prosperity, but may not be able to recognize how good their life actually is if they happen to be fixated in a negative mental, emotional and spiritual space. 


I can think right now of people I know who have serious chronic health problems, but who do what they can in their own behalf and enjoy what they can of life, as compared to the physically healthy hypochondriacs who whine and complain, court illness they don't have, and do not appreciate the level of health they actually have. 


Similarly, about happiness, I know people who are in dire circumstances, but they are doing what they can for themselves and are reasonably happy most of the time, as compared to the Eeyore sad-sacks who are miserable about everything, and making everyone around them miserable, too.  


With prosperity I always think of the "look good, smell good and broke" folks who live beyond their means in a lifestyle that used to be called "keeping up with the Joneses." At our house we have a one-liner, "She lives in a car, but it's a nice car."   My parents taught me to go to work every day and pay my bills first, take care of my things and appreciate what I do have, a lesson most of this country seems to have forgotten these days ... but I did not come here to preach a political sermon. The point is, regarding prosperity, a person ought to do what they can for themselves and appreciate and take care of what they have instead of living in a black hole attitude of not-enough.


It is because most people actually do have some degree of health, at least something to be happy about, and relative prosperity that I recommend praying that "________ may enjoy Health, Happiness and Prosperity" - that they may come to see what they actually already have, and appreciate and enjoy it.


Whenever I pray, whatever I'm praying for - I never hesitate to ask God for anything - deep, meaningful things, or superficial, materialistic things - anything - but I always "tap the ball back over to God's side of the net" by adding "Thy Will Be Done."  "Here's my idea, what do you think?" or  "Here's what I want, but you're the boss." "Thy Will Be Done."


And then - "I bless ________ with love and I release (him or her)." This phrase can be used for a person or a thing, a physical object or a concept or a habit - I have blessed with love and released specific persons, dear old broke down automobiles, feelings, habits of action and thought, particular circumstances - this is an extremely useful concept. I added it to this prayer because as long as I'm still trying to "handle" it, whatever "it" may be, I still have my hands on it and I still have it. I think of the child bringing the broken toy to be fixed, but he won't let go of it for you to fix. You take something to God to take care of, you have to let go of it. As long as you have your hands on it, whether it's just plain old hanging onto it, or trying to push it out of your life - if your hands are on it - you still have it and it's not going to change. You gotta release it. You gotta release it, and it goes better if you bless it with love and release it. 


Also, if you're asking for something to come into your life, you usually need to make room for it ... by releasing something. That dear old beat up car I mentioned in the previous paragraph? It was beyond repair. I needed a new car, but I had to release the one I had first, at a mental, emotional, spiritual level to make room for what was to come. If I'd a gone around cursing that raggedy old car as useless, I would probably still have it! I did love that car, though. It and I had been through a lot together. Unfortunately, it had outlived its usefulness to me and had to be replaced.  So I blessed it with love and released it an accepted a wonderful new replacement.  This process does not manifest overnight, but the trip of a thousand miles begins with one step.  Start by Blessing with Love and Releasing.


So, "God, be with ________ .  Let ________ be aware of Your Presence. I pray that Your Will be done in ________ 's life. I pray that ________ may enjoy Health, Happiness and Prosperity. Thy Will Be Done. I bless ________ with love and I release (him or her)" 


Don't worry if you don't "feel" these things about the person for whom you pray.  Prayer isn't so much to change the world as it is to change the pray-er. More than once have I have growled this prayer through gritted teeth for people I nearly hated. But I knew then and still know that people who are healthy and happy and feel good about themselves don't find it necessary to show their big red you-know-whats, so if their lives can improve by my praying for them, if they can come to some appreciation of the health, happiness and prosperity they have, or maybe even get more of all that, maybe they'll act nicer. It does not matter whether I like 'em or not. And even if nothing in their lives were to change (but it always has so far), something in me does change.

"God, be with ________ .  Let ________ be aware of Your Presence. I pray that Your Will be done in ________ 's life. I pray that ________ may enjoy Health, Happiness and Prosperity. Thy Will Be Done. I bless ________ with love and I release (him or her)"