I’m not too big on prayer. I don’t ask other people to pray for me or my loved ones. I figure God already knows every detail about everyone’s situation.
I meditate, though. I think about my loved ones and hold them in a space of healing love. But I wouldn’t call that praying.
However, in a crisis, I know a prayer that works. It goes like this: “Help me!”
That prayer worked when I was confronted by two snarling dobermans, alone on a mountain trail. (Obviously, I survived!)
(See On Barking Dogs and Sovereignty of Mind for the whole story.)
That prayer worked when I woke up in the middle of the night with awful heartburn… only to realize “Wait a minute… this couldn’t be heartburn… I skipped dinner tonight…. oh shit! It’s a heart attack. HELP ME!!!” And I got immediate and clear instructions to slow my system down by taking some deep breaths. (This was turning out to be a terrific prayer!)
Fast Forward to this year.
I’m a new student of Kabbalah. The homework after the first class was very simple. Say one short prayer first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Ask for help. Say “Help me!”
Aha! I already know this is an effective and easy-to-remember prayer! Now I learn that this is the first lesson of learning Kabbalah! So I did the homework. Now, instead of praying “Help me” only when I was in the middle of a crisis, I was praying this prayer every morning and every night. I was making deposits into my spiritual bank account.
“Simply acknowledging our need for the Creator’s help can be a major step in the right direction. This is the whisper that we are not alone, the first step in building a relationship with the Creator, and the first crack in the shell of ego that imprisons the Light within us.” – Michael Berg
It so happened that the first week I started this “Help me!” prayer routine, my car broke down upon exiting the freeway… only ten minutes from my home. While I was waiting for the tow truck with the hood up, at least eight people stopped to offer help. This nice guy Julio even stopped to see if it was anything easy that he could fix. So helpful! The tow truck arrived in a very short time after my call, and dropped my car off at the neighborhood mechanic, only a block away from my home. When my neighbor saw me walking home with no car, she offered the use of her car the next day so I could go to work. Help was around every corner!
I said the prayer fervently again that same week, when I learned that my position was being eliminated at my company. The rumor was that I was going to be let go. I was furious. Of course I was scared… and my car needed major repairs on top of that! My head was reeling… I was very crabby… I was beating myself up… why did I spend that money? Why didn’t I take better care of this car? blah blah blah…
I knew I needed help to reverse this downward emotional spiral and so I sent out the alarm: “Help me!” Help me remove the blocks to my powerful and unlimited Self! I need help!
That’s when I felt what I can only describe as a power surge. It was a physical sensation that propelled me into a proactive mode. I decided to go into my own business and I announced it to a couple of close friends. At the same time, I sent out resumes to about six different companies, three of which responded the next day. I was on a roll and I was confident and empowered! By the end of the week, the boss had not only decided to keep me, but he was going to send me to training for a new product.
No, I’m not too big on prayer. My only prayers are “Help me,” and “Thank you.”
Rene Best musician guitarist
Temenos Journal II 