Human beings are blessed with a unique gift: the gift of prayer or petition to the Infinite for our needs. A religious person would call it prayer; others may call it petition or meditation. There is a clear distinction between petition and meditation, however. Meditation is generally a passive process, but in a petition, we actively communicate with the Infinite Source. The word "petition" itself conveys the significance of the process. In human law, once a suit is filed or a legal proceeding is initiated, certain processes are put in motion. Regardless of who we are or our station in life, the legal process takes its course.

Natural laws operate the same way, no matter who triggers them. As soon as we petition for our needs, we put into motion certain natural processes that will bring about the manifestation of what we petitioned for.

If justified and done properly, petitions are always granted - always. Petitions are granted not on the basis of our religious beliefs or affiliations nor on the basis of righteousness or unrighteousness. Petitions can be conscious or unconscious. For the majority of us, our unconscious petitions are granted more often than our conscious ones.

Why are our unconscious petitions granted more often? The answer is simply that in our conscious petitions - due to ignorance, lack of clear thought, superstition, or unconscious behavior - we tend to contradict ourselves and therefore prevent our petitions from becoming alive and manifesting the things we petitioned for. To me there is no contradiction between the terms "granting of petitions" and "manifesting our desires." If we create something that does not contradict cosmic laws, it manifests (and can be said to be granted) in accordance with those laws. And petitions that do contradict these laws are either returned to the sender or ignored - not granted.

For petitions to be granted, they must be done properly, to conform to certain conditions:

• We must be sincere in our petitions.
  

• We must be careful that what we ask for is actually what we need.
  

• Our petitions must not be detrimental to others.
  

• What we ask for must benefit not only us but others as well.
  

• We must have the knowledge that our petition will be granted.
  

• Above all, we must release our petitions to the Universal Mind for them to be manifested.
  

These conditions may sound philosophical, but personal experience will convince you of their truth.

Being sincere means we ask for something because we need it and not because we want to be like or better than someone else, prove something to the world, or satisfy our ego.

Determining what we need is probably extremely difficult for most people. As an illustration, if you have no car, no money, no job, and face an eviction, what would you ask for? We must reduce our need to the lowest common factor. By asking for the wrong thing, we risk not receiving an answer or receiving something we may not be particularly happy with.

We must determine what is most essential for life, and we must trust in the Universal Mind to provide it in the best possible way.

If our petition would give us, for example, power to avenge prior wrongdoing by someone else or in any way allow us to harm or punish someone, the chance of that petition being granted is very slim.

The more benefit our petition would bring to others, the greater the chance that it will be granted. But it is not up to us to say, "If my petition to win the lottery is granted, I will do this or that for my neighbor because he or she needs it." As noble as it may sound, we must be careful about making such decisions regarding others. As I have pointed out, it is difficult enough to determine what we ourselves need much less what someone else needs.

Manifestation is not always obvious. Therefore, knowing when our petition has been granted is not easy and often requires a series of personal experiences that build confidence rather than just faith. If seeing is believing, then experience is knowing. We must have confidence that our petition will be granted until we have had enough experience to cause us to recognize that it has been granted.

The last condition is probably the most critical. If all the previous conditions have been met but you fail to release your petition to the Universal Mind, you can be sure that your petition will not be answered.

We've all had the experience in which what we want does not occur, and then, suddenly, it happens when we least expect it. Wouldn't it be nice to want something and have it happen right then? It seems that it often happens as soon as you have begun to give up or let go or released your thoughts. Once we have determined exactly what we need and have met the other conditions, we must release the petition to the Universal Mind to bring it about in the best possible way. We must be careful not to carry the petition with us twenty-four hours a day to the point that it becomes a worry. We must petition, release our thoughts, and forget about them until our next prayer or meditation period.

Fear is another thing that often defeats our efforts. Let's assume you've identified employment as your need, and you are middle aged. Throughout your life, you've worked in a certain field and have become an expert in that field. You now find yourself unemployed. How do you go about petitioning for employment?

In this illustration, it is not easy to approach petitions without filling your mind with all negative thoughts: "Who will hire a person of my age," or, "Would it be difficult for someone of my age to find

To avoid sabotaging your efforts, it is important to reexamine your identified need. Ask yourself what being employed would do for you. Is it possible you miss your morning routine of waking up at a certain time in the morning, dressing and leaving the house for work? Is it possible you miss being in a work environment where you are constantly in contact with coworkers? Is it possible you miss the sense of accomplishment you had when you were employed?

After reexamining your need, you may discover being employed is not what you need; you need those benefits being employed brings to your life. You should then visualize yourself enjoying the very things you want from being employed. Again, it shouldn't matter if someone calls you up and wants the services of a very experienced person like you on a consulting basis. It shouldn't matter if a nonprofit organization needs a mature, experienced individual like you to advise them on certain aspect of their business. You shouldn't care how you once again enjoy the things employment brings to your life, and it doesn't have to be in the same field.

UNCONSCIOUS PETITION MANIFESTED

Here is a story of someone I've known for years. She was a very healthy lady in her sixties when she lost her job through forced retirement. She had worked in the same job for a very long time. Being very active and having financial obligations to meet, she didn't want to retire just yet. When I talked to her before her last day on the job, I asked her,

"What are you going to do now?" "I don't know," she replied, "but I know I have to do something."

Think about her response again. You can't get any more positive, more determined, and full of confidence than this. It doesn't matter if her positive attitude, determination, and confidence were driven by fear or need. I was very happy for her, because I knew then she was on the right track and her needs would be met. I knew then she had triggered an unconscious petition, and her positive attitude and confidence were an outward confirmation of a petition granted, whether she realized it or not. It's one thing to proclaim how positive we are, but it is another thing to live positively and let our positive outlook on life radiate and shine through when faced with difficult situations.

The next day following her last day on the job, this wonderful lady was back in the building where she used to work. She attended and sat through all public meetings as she did when she worked there. A few days later when I saw her, she handed me a nicely done business card with the business name, "I-Search." During breaks, she would stop to talk to the consultants, lawyers, and business people she had known while working at the place. She would hand them her business card and let them know she no longer worked in her past position and could do research for them. Who wouldn't want an experienced, dependable person like her to do research for them? This lady's story should serve as an inspiration to many. She continues to enjoy the contact with her former coworkers and associates while working in a different capacity and is being paid for it.

She may not have recognized it, but in her moment of anxiety, she obviously triggered into motion certain natural forces, which in turn, generated the ideas she needed. Ideas are just that – ideas, and are meaningless until they are put in action. If she didn't follow up on these ideas as they occurred to her, she probably would still be waiting for the answers to her needs, and wondering why they were not forthcoming.

What would you do if you were in this lady's situation? Would you limit yourself through the negative thoughts of your mind? Would you recognize an answer to your petition when you receive one? For a detailed discussion about the subject of petitions, please see another one of my books, Seeds of Luck: The ABCs of Creating Your Heart's Desires.

See Also:

How Does Prayer Work?

It is difficult to explain how prayer works scientifically especially when it involves prayer by someone far away from the one who is being benefited and the prayed for person is not aware of the fact that he is being prayer for.

Proper Prayer

You can get closer to God and have better communication with Him if you are earnest and make efforts to so properly. The way we were originally taught.

Who Prays When You Pray?

When we pray, who does the praying? Almost any knowledgeable Christian will give the same response to that question. In fact, it is a questions which separates the knowledgeable from the less knowledgeable Christian.

Are They All Healed When You Pray

Everyone in the healing ministry experiences failure when praying with others for healing. "Failure" in this connection is simply not seeing the healing happen that you prayed for. This article briefly discusses some of the causes and suggests some solutions.

copyright 2004 Isaac Nwokogba

A lifelong student of Christianity, spirituality, metaphysical traditions, and traditional African religions, Isaac Nwokogba has written three books and published many articles on various aspects of spirituality. His latest book, Voices from Beyond: The God Force, the Other Side, and You is scheduled for release in May 2004. http://www.voicesfrombeyond.com