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12) What kinds of prayer bear fruit? What kinds do
not?
All prayers are fruitful. No prayers are ignored by God.
However, it is not for the fruits that we should pray. The
real fruit of prayer is connection to the divine, and that
comes with any prayer at any time.
13) What about people who offer prayers out of
fear of God?
On the one hand, it is good that they are praying. That is
the main thing. However, God should never be feared. He
is infinitely forgiving, boundlessly loving and always ready
to take us into His arms. It is the temptations of the material
world that should be feared. It is those that steer us in the
wrong direction and bring us frustration and anguish.
14) Does God heed our prayers? How does one know
if God has heard the prayer?
Yes, definitely God listens. But, we must realize there is a
difference between hearing our prayers and gratifying our
every whim. God listens to everything we say, to everything
we think, to everything we feel. However, that does not
mean that He will always give us what we ask for. God
knows what we need; He knows what is best for us, both in
the present and for our future growth. So many times we
think we know what we want, we think we know what will
make us happy. But, only God really knows. Further, what
happens in our lives is a product of so many past karmas,
in addition to our goals of today.
How to know if God has heard us? We must establish a
divine connection, a deep and strong relationship with God.
We must have antennae in our hearts that are tuned to
only one station: God. Then we will know that not only
has He heard our prayers, but also that He is speaking
back to us. When we speak to God it is prayer. When He
speaks back to us it is meditation.
15) Is there any difference between prayer and
thoughtful moral action? If so, what is the
difference?
Yes, there is a difference, but there should not be. All of
our thoughts and all of our observances should be prayer.
Typically our thoughts are about relatively mundane things
– our selfish desires, our expectations, our plans. Prayer is
typically purer, more devotional. The goal, however, is to
have every thought be focused on God, to have every
thought be pure and holy.
16) What about when sincere prayer does not bear
fruit?
As I mentioned, there are so many factors that are woven
together into the fabric of our lives. Our prayers are only
one of those factors. Karma plays a crucial role in what
befalls us, whether it’s success or failure, prosperity or
poverty. That is why we must not only be good, but we
must also do good! The more good we do in our lives, the
more our prayers will be fruitful.
So, there are many factors in whether or not our prayers
17) Can prayer which is not supported by action
are “answered”; but we must never confuse an unanswered
bear fruit?
prayer with thinking that God has not heard us.
They say, “God helps those who help themselves.” In other
DROPS DROPS OF OF OF NECTAR NECTAR NECTAR . 116
words, do as much as you can, and
.
then lay the fruits of
your work in God’s hands. I always say, “Do your best and
leave the rest to DROPS God.” DROPS DROPS OF OF NECTAR NECTAR 117