PART I

THE NATURE OF AND PREPARATION FOR PRAYER
THE subject of prayer is well worth the attention and study of all who aspire to spirituality, and we trust the following hints may help our students in their efforts in this direction.
There is only one force in the universe, namely, the Power of God, which He sent forth through space in the form of a Word; not a single word, but the cre- ative fiat which by its sound-vibration marshaled the millions of chaotic atoms into the multitudinous shapes and forms from starfish to star and microbe to man, which constitute and inhabit the universe. As the syllables and sounds of this creative Word are being spoken, one after another through the ages, species are being created and the older ones evolved, all according to the thought and plan conceived in the Divine Mind ere the dynamic force of creative energy was sent out into the abyss of space.
122 THE NATURE OF PRAYER
This, then, is the only source of power, and in it we really, truly, and literally live and move and have our being, just as surely as the fishes live in the water. We can no more escape or withdraw ourselves from God than the fish can live and swim on dry land. It was no mere poetic sentiment when the Psalmist said : "Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in the grave behold Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me."
God is Light, and not even the greatest of modern telescopes which reach many millions of miles into space have found the boundaries of light. But we know that unless we have eyes wherewith to perceive the light, and ears which register the vibrations of sound, we walk the earth in eternal darkness and silence; similarly, to perceive the Divine Light which alone can illuminate our spiritual darkness, and to hear the voice of the silence which alone can guide us, we must cultivate our spiritual eyes and ears; and prayer, true scientific prayer, is one of the most powerful and efficacious methods of finding favor before the face of our Father, and receiving the immersion in spiritual light which alchemicall}
PRAYER — A MAGIC INVOCATION 123
transforms the sinner to the saint and places around him the golden wedding garment of Light, the lum- inous soul body.
Preparation for Prayer. Ora et Labora. But be not deceived, prayer alone will not do this. Unless our whole life, waking and sleeping, is a prayer for illumination and sanctification, our pray- ers will never penetrate to the Divine Presence and bring down upon us a baptism of His power. "Ora et labora" — pray and work — is an occult injunction which all aspirants must obey or they will meet with but scant success. In this connection an ancient leg- end of St. Francis of Assissi will bear repetition be- cause of the light it sheds upon the life of one wholly dedicated to the service of God.
One day St. Francis stepped up to a young brother in the monastery with the invitation: "Come, bro- ther, let us go down to the village and preach to the people. " The young brother addressed respond- ed with alacrity, overjoyed at the prospect of a walk with the holy father, for he knew what a source of spiritual uplif tment it would be. And so they walked to the village, up and down its various streets and lanes, all the while conversing upon topics of absorb- ing spiritual interest, and finally turned their steps homeward towards the monastery. Then suddenly it dawned upon the young brother that they had been
124 THE NATURE OF PRAYER
so absorbed in their own conversation that they had forgotten the object of their walk to the village. Diffidently he reminded St. Francis of the omission, and the latter responded : ' ' Son, while we were walk- ing the village streets the people were watching us, they overheard snatches of our conversation and noted that we were talking of the love of God and His dear Son, our Saviour; they noted our kindly greetings and our words of cheer and comfort to the afflicted ones we met, and even our garb spoke to them the language and call of religion; so we have preached to them every moment of our sojourn among them to much better purpose than if we had harangued them for hours in the market place." St. Francis had no other thought but God and to do good in His name therefore he was well attuned to the divine vibration, and it is no wonder that when he went to his regular prayers he was a powerful magnet for the divine Life and Light which permeated his whole being.
We who are engaged in the so-called secular work of the world and forced to do things that seem sordid* often feel that we are hampered and hindered on that account, but if we "do all things as unto the Lord" and are "faithful in a few things," we shall find that in time opportunities will come of which we do not dream. As the magnetic needle temporarily deflected from the North by outside pressure instantly and
PRAYER — A MAGIC INVOCATION 125
eagerly returns to its natural position when the pres- sure is removed, so we must cultivate that yearning for our Father which will instantly turn our thoughts to Him when our work in the world is done for the day and we are free to follow our own bent. We must cultivate a feeling similar to that which ensouls young lovers when after an absence they fly into each others arms in an ecstasy of delight. This is an absolutely essential preparation for prayer, and if we fly to our Father in that manner, the Light of His presence and the sweetness of His voice will teach and cheer us beyond our fondest hopes-
The Place of Prayer
The next point requiring consideration is the place of prayer; this is of very vital importance for a rea- son not generally known even among students of oc- cultism; it is this. Every prayer, spoken or unspo- ken, 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. Tie reads, brings down upon both the worshiper and the place of worship an outpouring of spirit. Thus in time an invisible church is built around the physic- al structure which in the case of a devout congre- gation becomes so beautiful that it transcends all imagination and defies description. Manson in the ''Servant in the House" gives us only the faintest
126 THE NATURE OF PRAYER
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 deaa pile of stones and unmeaning timber, it is a LIVING THING. When you enter it you hear a 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 shadows 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
PRAYER — A MAGIC INVOCATION 127
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 fairy palace in a poet's dream; it is as Manson says, a living tiling, vibrant with divine power of immense aid to the worshiper, for it helps him in ad- justing 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 to the 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 for- tunate 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 pro- fane 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. There-
128 THE NATURE OF PRAYER
fore no place open to the general public will answer.
Furthermore, the power of prayer increases enor- mously 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 imagination to realize that their first at- tempts 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 efficacious the participants must be equally well prepared as elucidated under a previous heading; they must ~be attuned under harmonious horoscopic influences. When a malefic injme nativ- ity 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.
129