A Place Of Prayer
by Max Heindel
The
next point requiring consideration is the place of prayer;
this is of very vital importance for a reason not
generally known
even among students of occultism; it is this. Every
prayer, spoken
or unspoken, every song of praise, and every reading
of parts of the
scriptures which teach or exhort, if done by a
properly prepared
reader who loves and lives what he reads, brings down
upon both the
worshiper and the place of worship an outpouring of
spirit. This in
time an invisible church is built around the physical
structure
which in the case of a devout congregation becomes so
beautiful that
it transcends all imagination and defies description.
Manson in
the "Servant in the House" gives us only the
faintest glimpse of
what it is like when he tells the old Bishop:
"I am afraid you may not consider it an
altogether substantial
concern. It has to be seen in a certain way under
certain
conditions. Some people never see it at all. You must
understand,
this is no dead pile of stones and unmeaning timber,
it is a living
thing. When you enter it you hear sound, a sound as of
some mighty
poem chanted. Listen long enough and you will learn
that it is made
up of the beating of human hearts, of the nameless
music of men's
souls; that is, if you have ears. If you have eyes,
you will
presently see the church itself, a looming mystery of
many shapes
and shadow leaping sheer from floor to dome, the work
of no ordinary
builder. Its pillars go up like the brawny trunks of
heroes; the
sweet human flesh of men and women is moulded about
its bulwarks,
strong impregnable. The faces of little children laugh
out from
every corner stone; the terrible spans and arches of
it are the
joined hands of comrades, and up in the heights and
spaces are
inscribed the numberless musings of all the dreamers
in the world.
It is yet building, building, and built upon.
Sometimes the work
goes forward in deep darkness--sometimes in blinding
light- -now
beneath the burden of unutterable anguish, now to the
tune of great
laughter and heroic shoutings like the cry of thunder.
Sometimes in
the night time one may hear the tiny hammerings of
comrades at work
in the dome, the comrades that have climbed ahead."
But this invisible edifice is not merely lovelier than
a fair
palace in a poet's dream; it is as Manson says, a
living thing,
vibrant with divine power of immense aid to the
worshiper, for it
helps him in adjusting the tangled vibrations of the
world which
permeate his aura when he enters a true "House of
God" and to get
into the proper attitude of prayer. Then it helps him
to lift
himself in aspiration tot he throne of divine grace,
and to offer
there his praise and adoration which call forth from
the Father a
new outpouring of the spirit in the loving response,
"This is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased."
Such a place of worship is essential to spiritual
growth by
scientific prayer, and those who are fortunate enough
to have access
to such a temple should always occupy the same place
in it, for that
becomes permeated with their individual vibrations and
they fit into
that environment more easily than anywhere else;
consequently they
get better results there.
But such places are scarce, for a real sanctuary is
required in
scientific prayer. No gossip or profane conversation
may take place
in or near it for that spoils the vibrations; voices
must be hushed
and the attitude reverent; each must bear in mind that
he stands
upon holy ground and act accordingly, Therefore no
place open to the
general public will answer.
Furthermore, the power of prayer increases enormously
with each
additional worshiper.--The increase may be compared to
geometrical
progression if the worshipers are properly attuned and
trained in
collective prayer; the very opposite may result if
they are not.
Perhaps an illustration may make the principle clear.
Suppose a
number of musicians who have never played with others
and who
perhaps are not very proficient in the use of their
instruments,
were brought together and set to play in concert; it
needs no very
keen imaginations to realize that their first attempts
would be
marked by much discord, and were an amateur allowed to
play with
them, or even with a finished orchestra, no matter how
earnest and
how intense his desire, he would inevitably spoil
their music.
Similar scientific conditions govern collective prayer;
to be
effcacious participants must be equally well prepared
as elucidated
under a previous heading; they must be attuned under
harmonious
horoscopic influences. When a malefic in one nativity
is on the
ascendant of another, those two cannot profit by
praying together;
they may rule their stars and live in peace if they
are developed
souls, but they lack the basic harmony which is
absolutely essential
in collective prayer. Initiation removes this barrier
but nothing
else can.
-MAX HEINDEL
from The Web of Destiny
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