"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father.       "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

 " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

We are still sons of God but we left our Father's house and wandered into the land of want and fear. Our Father's house is Awareness/Love. If we have the spiritual substance of Consciousness/Love, everything we need will be manifested.

So, what is prayer? It is to remember where our Father's house is and to return there. How do we do it? We must let go of all our wants and fears. We must stop relying on our own personal self, the world and other people for our needs. We must surrender to God or Reality. We must trust our Father, or Infinite Intelligence for our supply. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; it is in Consciousness. So, we must release wanting security, control and approval. God never withholds any good thing from us. We are the one who chose to wander into the land of ignorance,selfishness, want and fear. We must remember that supply is not money, things or people; health is not just a healthy body; companionship is not harmonious relationships. CONSCIOUSNESS/LOVE is supply, wholeness and grace. First, we must be ONE with CONSCIOUSNESS/LOVE "then all those other things shall be added unto us" or be manifested. 

Until we prove to ourself that God is Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent, we will continue to live in fear and want. We say we trust God and then we eventually succomb again to the slavery of the world, money, people and things. We cannot serve two masters. Consciousness is the One and only power and all the Good that is manifested in the world has had its source in Consciousness.

To pray is to recognize that the Kingdom of Heaven is here and now. This is how we raise our consciousness from darkness into Light. And in the Kingdom of Light, there are no problems, there are no needs and nothing to be healed. Everything is fulfilled. Remember what God said to the second son: "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours." Consciousness is the source and substance of all manifested forms. When we realize this, we know that everything we need will flow forth out of our consciousness. But we must keep the substance flowing by means of love, compassion, usefulness, forgiveness, givingness and gratitude. 

"I have a friend who has problems. She is religious and seems very pious. When things get blackest and she has no more hope and is at the bottom, at that very moment something happens so that everything turns out right. Do you know why she must reach bottom? Because she does not really have faith. She is not really pious. This is her trouble. You see, faith would cause her to let go and let God. Being pious, being humble and surrendering would cause the same thing. Outwardly, she’s the way she says, but inwardly she’s the way I’m saying. You see, she tries to control everything, and that is not letting go and letting God. She prays, but she wants it the way she wants it. She has found out that her praying for it does not help her. If you surrender, you do not have to pray. She has got to let go and let God. When does she let go and let God? When she, herself, can not do anything any more, she lets go. She lets go in the extreme. And the moment she lets go, everything resolves itself. Can you see that? When things reach the extreme, she feels “Oh, there’s nothing I can do,” and that is when she lets go and lets God. If she could see this point, she would be more consciously able to use it. For Conviction, which is stronger than faith, absolute conviction of God — that will do it! Let go and let God and then everything straightens out." Lester Levenson

THE LORD'S PRAYER

"Our Father, which art in Heaven"

Our Father is the Consciousness in which we dwell. And Heaven is the "I AM" Awareness that is beyond human thought. In this Awareness, there is a Divine Pattern that is holy and perfect. In this Heaven or Kingdom of Harmony, all needs and desires are already fulfilled.

"Hallowed be Thy Name."

Here we connect with God by expressing our love for His holiness, Truth and Love.

"Thy Kingdom come."

We ask that this Divine Pattern be expressed and manifested on Earth or in our own mind and life.

"Thy will be done, in earth as it is in Heaven."

God's will is Love and Love dissolves all that is not harmonious in our mind and life.

"Give us this day our daily bread."

Our daily bread is the spiritual substance of Love and Wisdom. This spiritual substance will manifest as everything we may need for our existence. Therefore, if we have the spiritual substance, all our needs are fulfilled. We cannot store this substance. We must receive it daily from the Lord.

"And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."

Forgiveness opens our heart and mind so we can receive the spiritual substance. And we can only be forgiven if we forgive others, because others are just our own reflection. It is not our job to judge others; spiritual Law will judge them.

"And lead us not into temptation."

Temptations occur when we are confronted with seeming problems. We should never judge our life by appearances. Every problem we confront is an opportunity to increase our faith in God. Remember, there are no problems in the Kingdom of Heaven, Awareness and Truth. Therefore, when we see a problem; we are not seeing the Truth. What we are seeing are the clouds of fear and doubt of the human mind. We do not fight the problem in the outer world. We accept it and we dissolve it in Consciousness by realizing that it is not the Truth. As we remember and recognize the Truth, the clouds of fear and doubt are lifted and the seeming problem is resolved. The more problems we resolve in this way, the greater will be our faith and the more harmonious will be our life. If you read the New Testament, you will see that this is the way Jesus solved every problem. He could heal everyone because he could see the Truth.

"But deliver us from evil."

Evil represents all the thoughts and feelings of darkness such as fear, selfishness, self-righteousness, ignorance, doubt, envy, greed, etc. The Light of Truth and the warmth of Love deliver us from this darkness.

"For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

God or Consciousness is the ONE and ONLY REALITY. And God is Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent. So any Good that we may desire or receive is from Him. He is the ONE and ONLY source. And He deserves all the Glory.