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(Emmet
Fox) THE
first step that the earnest student must take is to settle on a definite
method of working, selecting whichever one seems to suit him/her best,
and then giving it a fair trial. That means that you must acquire
a definite method or system of spiritual treatment or scientific prayer.
Merely reading books, making good resolutions, or talking plausibly
about the thing will get you nowhere. Get a definite method of
working; practice it conscientiously every day; and stick to the method
long enough to give it a fair chance. You would not expect to play
the violin after two or three attempts, or to drive a car without a
little preliminary practice.
HAVING
got your method, set to work definitely on some concrete problem in your
own life, choosing preferably whichever is causing you the most trouble
at the moment, or, better still, whatever it is that you are most afraid
of. Work at it steadily; and if nothing has happened, if no
improvement at all shows itself within, say, a couple of weeks at the
outside, then try it on another problem. If you still get no
result, then scrap that method and adopt a new one. Remember,
there is a way out; that is as certain as the rising of the sun.
The problem really is, not the getting rid of your difficulties, but the
finding of your own best method for doing it.
IF
ill health is your difficulty, do not rest until you have brought about
at least one bodily healing. There is no malady that has not been
healed by someone at some time, and what others have done you can do,
for God is Principle, and Principle changes not.
IF
poverty is the trouble, go to work on that, and clear it up once and for
all. It can be done. It has been done. Others have
done it, and you can.
IF
you are unhappy, dissatisfied with your lot, or your surroundings, above
all, with yourself, set to work on that; refuse to take no for an
answer; and insist upon the happiness and satisfaction that are yours by
Divine right.
IF
your need is self-expression - artistic, literary, or otherwise - if
your heart's desire is to attain to eminence in a profession, or some
kind of public career, that, too, approached in the right spirit, is a
legitimate and worthy object, and the right method of scientific prayer
will bring you the prize.
KEEP
a record of your results, and on no account be satisfied with anything
less than success. Above all things, avoid the deadly error of
making excuses. There are no excuses for failing to demonstrate.
When you do not demonstrate, it never by any chance means anything
except that you have not worked in the right way. Excuses are the
true and veritable devil, who comes to tempt you to remain outside of
the Kingdom of Heaven, while the Gate stands open. Excuses, in
fact, are the only enemy that you really need to fear.
FIND
the method that suits you; cultivate simplicity -
simplicity and spontaneity are the secret of effective prayer - work
away steadily; keep your own counsel; and whatsoever ye shall ask in My
name, that will I do ... and My name is I AM.
And
So It Is!
Written
by Emmet Fox, 1933 - LAST WEEK Part 1
Maximum Love,
Rev.
Hank Bates
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