Heart Messages from Joan

Renewing the Spirit

Spring is a time of renewal. Nature offers many examples of this. Perhaps the most striking is the emergence of fresh green buds from old, dried and apparently dead branches. The truth is that the branches, although they may look dead, are just dormant. Underneath the dried exterior, growth and change are quietly taking place.

There are times in all of our lives when we may feel like some aspect of ourselves is dried up or dead. This is just an illusion. The spirit within is always strong, regardless of whether we recognize it or not. We may just be going through a period of evolution that will lead to revitalization and renewal. In the midst of this experience, we may not realize what is happening and feel discouraged, hopeless or have a lapse in faith. This is the time when we need a retreat to renew our connection to Spirit. This could come in the form of a retreat to a place outside of our usual existence, such as a getaway into nature. It could also come in the form of a retreat within, through prayer and meditation.

As you enter into mediation, affirm "The spirit within me is strong. I am in a constant state of growth and renewal." Sit in silence and feel the power of the life force pulsing through your body. Breathe deeply and feel yourself fill with the Spirit that sustains us all. Think of the ways in which you are ready to give up the old that no longer supports you, to make way for the new. Imagine a spiritual pruning. When you emerge from this state of meditation notice how you feel revitalized.

Faith Not Fear

"Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed; for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
I Chronicles 28:20

These words are our promise that, no matter where we are or what is happening in our lives, God is with us, watching over us and providing for us. How often do we forget or doubt this ever-loving and protecting presence? Possibly more often than we realize.

Every word we speak is as sacred as a prayer; so what are we saying when we make comments like, "I am so worried about..." or "I am afraid that..."? We may think these are innocuous little statements, but they are not. We are giving power to our fears, perhaps without even knowing it, by identifying with them rather than with our faith. This allows our fears to rule us. The only way to truly give up our fears is to give them over to God and put our faith in the higher presence. Once we do, we can no longer continue to be afraid.

This is the time of year when we make resolutions to bring positive changes into our lives. Let's strive to accomplish something big this year. What is it that you have thought you could never do because you have let fear hold you back? Resolve to do this very thing by strengthening your faith and trust in God. Let your light shine brilliantly and have the best year yet.

Affirm: "I fill my heart with faith. There is no room for fear. The possibilities are endless."

Remember: fear is only false evidence appearing real. Let your faith shatter the illusion of fear.

Gifts and Gratitude

"As you give so shall you receive."

This is the time of year for giving and receiving. We give and receive gifts, and we give thanks. The greatest gift we can give is our gratitude. In doing so, we are recognizing the good in others and expressing our appreciation to those who have shown us kindness. We are also opening the channel to receive. Through giving and receiving we multiply our gifts and receive rich rewards of all types including the gratitude of others.

The greatest gifts all come from our unlimited source, God. Prayers of gratitude are the most powerful form of prayer. We are not begging or bargaining. We are not telling God what we want or how it should be accomplished. God knows all of this already and is always giving us whatever we need for our highest good. In prayers of gratitude, we are recognizing the source of our good and thanking God for providing it.

"Thank You, God, for the special gifts you have given me that are uniquely mine to joyously and abundantly share with others."

Keeping the Faith

"We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:18

Faith is defined as an unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence, but proof is exactly what we often want to keep our faith alive. We may find it easy to keep the faith when we can see God's work clearly before us; when all is going well in our lives, when we are experiencing peace and harmony with friends, family and co-workers, when our prosperity is fl owing, or when we are in good health. When a prayer is answered in just the way we want, we may feel a surge of faith. Quiet moments of reflection can bring us closer to God and strengthen our faith.

What happens to our faith in times of darkness, when nothing appears to be going our way, when we have stress and turmoil in our lives or when our prayers appear to go unanswered? This can lead to a crisis in faith. We may ask, "Where is God now?" These are the times when we need our faith more than ever, but we may abandon it because we may feel abandoned by God. The truth is that God never abandons us no matter what we do or think. Just because we do not understand why events in our lives are occurring in a particular way, does not mean that a higher presence is not active. Our prayers never go unanswered. They just may not be answered in a form that we recognize. We cannot always accurately judge what is in our best interest. We do not know or see all that God does. By clinging to our own ideas of how things should be, we can actually block our greatest good.

Keeping the faith means knowing that God is always with us, providing for us. Keeping the faith means trusting that all is in perfect order, believing in what we cannot see. It means continuing on in the darkness when the light eludes us. Sometimes when the dark seems unceasing, we need to turn to others to be our light bearers.

The Power of Prayer

"Pray without ceasing." This may seem impossible unless we acknowledge that every thought we have, every word we speak is a prayer. Prayer is a time of communion with God. Since God is always present, we are always in communion, whether we recognize this or not. In conscious prayer, we may ask that our needs be met and that our desires be fulfilled. "Ask and ye shall receive" is the promise that all of our prayers will be answered. Frances W. Foulks tells us in the Unity Classic, Effectual Prayer , "Our Father is much more willing to give than is an earthly parent, but even God cannot give to those who come to Him with a consciousness closed by doubt and fear." She likens this to a child asking for food with fists clenched behind the back rather than with outstretched hands. When we come to God with open hearts and minds, the power of our prayer is limitless.

We really do not even need to ask. God already knows all of our needs and desires and is always there to provide for our highest good. Charles Fillmore, the co-founder of Unity said, "Prayer does not change God, the unchangeable, but it changes us and makes us receptive to that good which is being given without limit." Through prayer, we correct our error-thinking and let go of doubts and fears, thus opening the way for God's will to be done in providing for us abundantly.

Prayer is more than talking to God. Another aspect of prayer, sometimes called meditation, is listening to God- the small, still voice within. In order to hear this voice, we must sit quietly, relax and become centered. In the stillness, we are enlightened. We are able to let go of our need to control the outcome of the events of our lives, the need to have it our way, and let God's infinite wisdom be done.

Our prayers will always be answered, but the outcome may not come in the form that we want or expect. We must trust that divine order is always in place and that all is right. The most powerful of prayers is, "Thy will, not my will, be done." When we utter this prayer, we have truly reached the point of letting go and letting God.

The Healing Power of Prayer

"I have heard your prayer... Indeed, I will heal you." 2 Kings 20:5

Through prayer we access the healing power of God. Turning to the higher source, the divinity that resides within each of us allows our bodies, minds and souls to be healed of any negativity that may reside there. God has created us as perfect beings and the power of God overrides any beliefs we may hold of being less than perfect.

Myrtle Fillmore describes the healing power of prayer in her Unity Classic, "How I Found Health." In this pamphlet, she describes how she recovered from the serious illness of tuberculosis, which was thought to be incurable in her day. This experience was the basis of Myrtle and her husband, Charles Fillmore's founding of Unity. In this pamphlet, Myrtle describes how she was divinely inspired to recognize that each cell and organ in her body had intelligence and knew what to do to function effectively. She explains, "I went to all the life centers in my body and spoke words of Truth to them-words of strength and power. I asked for their forgiveness for the foolish, ignorant course that I had pursued in the past when I had condemned them and called them weak, inefficient and diseased." She did not become discouraged by how lengthy this process was and spent time in prayer each day. Eventually her body responded and she was healed.

The Bible is full of examples of the healing power of God available through prayer. In our modern society we often want proof. There was a well-controlled scientific study conducted at San Francisco General Hospital with cardiac patients. The patients were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, who were prayed for by several "pray-ers" recruited from local churches, or the control group, who did not receive these prayers. Neither the patients nor the healthcare providers knew which patients were in what group. The patients who received the prayers made more significant improvement in their treatment than those who did not receive the prayers.