Category: The Power Of Prayer

I like simple prayers, ones that are quite easy to remember, yet still have a profound impact in all their simplicity. Recently, I heard one of those at a recovery meeting and ever since, I’ve been saying it on just about a daily basis, not just in the morning upon waking, but all throughout the day. Here’s that prayer:

“Higher Power, empty me of me, and fill me with You.”

Of course the words “Higher Power” can be replaced by anything one wishes to use. In my case, I’ve used “God” or “Jesus” or “Holy Spirit” or “Creator” just to name a few. Nevertheless, why this speaks so profoundly to me is that most of my life I was always filling myself with nothing but myself. In other words, I was full of myself and there was no room for anything else.

These days, I sincerely have but one desire and that’s to be emptied of every part of me that stands in the way of fully serving my Higher Power, whom I choose to refer to as God. And as I’m emptied, I long to be filled back up by only one thing and that’s whatever God wishes to put back within me. Because in all honesty, everything I always filled myself up with constantly got depleted and left me feeling empty all over again. But I truly believe that whatever God fills me with will be eternal.

So as I continue to use this prayer on a regular basis in my own life, it’s my hope that you might find connection to its words, as much I have…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Recently, someone very dear to me asked that I grant them some space for a good chunk of time due to some things they were going through. I didn’t take the request very well at first and instead went into my head with all sorts of abandonment issues, self-pity, and doubt. But after some deep introspection, I realized there was a greater purpose that was meant to come out of this and it deals with breaking free of the last bit of codependency I seem to still have in life.

While much of my codependent ways have already been removed, there’s one specific area I have yet to work through and it deals with my connection to God. While this may seem a little strange to some, I’ve been overly reliant upon plenty of others throughout my life solely for the purpose of having them connect to God for me. Whether that’s been through a religious leader, a close friend, a spiritual teacher, a holistic guru, a psychic, or some other person that had strong ties and daily practices connecting to God, there’s always been at least someone in my life, at any given point in time who I’ve been consulting regularly with on what God’s will is for me.

The reality is that I want to be fully trusting and reliant upon my Higher Power, listening and responding to Their direct guidance versus always going to someone else for that reassurance. But sadly, the latter is what I’ve done for far too long, essentially going from one person to the next, asking if God has communicated anything to them about my specific spiritual journey. In regards to the person who asked for some time and space to work through some of their own stuff is an example of just one of many over the years I constantly asked for that reassurance.

But now I realize it’s time for me to finally stand on my own two feet and learn to spread my wings and fly from that nest once and for all. I know this is a critical stage in my spiritual growth and I know that remaining codependent on others to connect to God on my behalf is only going to impede that from happening.

Thus, while my ego may not be happy about having someone I love dearly ask for some space for a while from me, the fact remains that it’s actually a good and healthy thing for my spiritual growth. While I know this is a serious challenge for my ego, it’s a necessary action needed if I want to learn how to trust fully in God, as well as with my inner guidance.

So I accept that challenge. Because ultimately, I want to become fully trusting and reliant upon God in this life. I want to trust in that inner voice as well that connects me to God, but to get there, I know all of my codependent ways must be removed.

“God, this is a big step in my spiritual journey to grow closer to You, but one that I know is necessary nonetheless. So I pray that I don’t try to grasp onto yet another person to have them be the intercessor between You and me. Instead, I commit to finally taking a step I’ve avoided for all of my life. A step where I no longer rely upon another human being to intercede on my behalf to connect with You. Thus, I pray to become fully open to receiving the guidance and direction from You, instead of from others whom I’ve become codependent on to receive that. And while I know this goes against what my ego thinks and wants, I also know it’s necessary if I want to fully step into the Light. So I pray for the strength to achieve this. Thank You and Amen.”

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

If prayer works, why doesn’t it work for everyone?

This was a question I was asked recently by someone very close to my heart who has been going through a lot of their own pain and struggles in the past few years. I too have wondered this myself a number of times over the last bunch of years. But I think the real question being asked here is better worded like this…

Why do some prayers get answered while others don’t?

This is such a tough question to ponder. Even the greatest spiritual beings in history have had trouble with resolving it. While I can’t say I have the exact answer either, maybe I can best respond like this.

I have struggled with mental, emotional, and physical pain for years now. When it first began I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed for it to end and to return to a much better state of health. When those prayers went unanswered over the course of days, weeks, months, and then eventually years, I began to question my faith and wonder if God even existed. Was anyone even hearing all my prayers? Was anyone out there even listening to any of my tear-soaked words?

At first I was angry and wanted to rebel. I wanted to be resentful at God for letting this happen to me. But over time, something changed. My heart opened. And through that, I began to see all my pain and suffering from a totally different perspective. I realized that if my prayers had been answered years ago I would have never gained the gratitude I have in life for even the smallest of things like I do now. I also wouldn’t have seen that God exists in everyone and everything like I do now. But even more importantly than that, I would never have had my faith as much as it has through all of this. And most likely, if my prayers for healing had been answered long ago, there’s a strong likelihood I would have returned to my life of addictions, because that’s all I ever knew.

Sitting still and waiting on God, praying day in and day out for a brighter day has definitely not been an easy thing to do. Especially when my ego has screamed and screamed and screamed at me, trying to take control saying there must be a better way. Unfortunately, the last time I allowed it to convince me of that, I found myself in a much-worse state that I already was and became heavily medicated just to exist.

So while my prayers for better health haven’t been answered yet, something else has. God has provided me with an abundance of food, water, shelter, clothing, and companionship to keep me going. That’s a lot to be said compared to the millions and millions of people in this world who don’t have one or more of those things on any given day. Seeing that from this perspective helped me to alter my prayers along the way, as now I just ask for the strength to endure until God delivers me into a brighter day. And occasionally I’ve gotten glimpses of that in various ways, ever reminding me that something beyond my comprehension is hearing my prayers and working on my behalf.

In all honesty, looking back, I’m kind of glad that my prayers weren’t answered in the way I wanted because it only would have satisfied my ego and not my soul. And the last thing I want to satisfy is my ego on any level right now, as it’s my ego that has always been the one that has led me to ask those questions of why do some prayers go unanswered. It’s my ego that has always tried to convince me that when my prayers aren’t answered in the way it wants, that God must not exist. It’s my ego that’s always tried to convince me that if God was all-loving, then why would God let bad things happen to me. And the more I’ve listen to my ego, the more I’ve lived in anger, resentment, and frustration, the more I’ve blamed God for everything, and the more I’ve questioned whether it’s even worth it to pray or not. Being in that place did nothing good for me and only left me feeling empty and alone, so that’s why I continue to pray and believe my prayers are still being answered.

So why doesn’t prayer work for everyone and why do some prayers go unanswered?

My answer is simple. I believe it’s the ego that says prayer doesn’t work and it’s the ego that makes one think their prayers aren’t getting answered. If we could just get out of our own way and thinking, we might see that something greater is at work in our lives, that our prayers are being answered, and that it’s probably being done in a fashion far better than anything we could ever have imagined for ourselves…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson