God is NOT a Vending Machine
Posted by admin on February 2nd, 2010Many of us pray for a certain thing to happen. God I want a new car. God, I want a new job. God I want to be in a relationship with Suzy and I will do whatever it takes to have her. Some of us even bargain with God…I really want Billy to get back together with me and I promise I will be good and I will go to church every Sunday, just please let me have him back. When Billy does not come back, Sally assumes God has not answered her prayer.
NEWSFLASH!!! Perhaps the answer is “NO”. Perhaps that relationship, possession or job, is not in the best interest for the progression of your soul during its journey on the earthly plane. Perhaps your focus should be on something else.
I remember speaking with a woman once who told me she was mad at God because her boyfriend did not get a promotion although they had been praying daily that he would. I remember telling her something like this: Wow, where did your sense of entitlement come from? You know it is not ALL ABOUT YOU! God is sort of busy right now, a hurricane just hit New Orleans and thousands of people are dead or homeless…there is war in Iraq, people all over the world are starving, and you are upset because your boyfriend did not get a promotion? I also remember telling her that God is not a vending machine. Several weeks later she emailed apologizing because the promotion and raise did come, it was just delayed. The point here is two fold. Sometimes the answer is ‘no’ but sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes things have to unfold according to the divine plan – the timing of the Universe.
When we pray, we have to wait for a response. Sometimes we become so impatient that we repeat our prayers night after night, petitioning the same requests over and over. Guess what? God is not deaf. S/he heard you the first time. Once is enough. After you say your prayer, it is your job to sit back and wait. Yep. Patience. Let me spell that out again P A T I E N C E. This is kind of like hitting the elevator button over and over while you impatiently stand at the elevator doors. Even though the light is lit, you push it over and over, thinking it will make it come faster. What a waste of time, and finger energy – once is enough.
Today’s society is so geared toward instant gratification, we want things and we want them now. Well, take a number and get in line because God is sorta busy right now. When we pray God/dess does hear our prayers. But we, as humans, must then step back from the desire and wanting (and asking) and allow things to unfold.
When we are constantly petitioning we can’t hear the answer. The answer often comes in the silence of meditation or mindfulness…in the silence, s/he whispers to us the answers that we seek….and we have but to recognize them. Prayer is when we speak to God ~~~ meditation and connecting to the divine source and waiting for the response, is when s/he answers. When we stop asking and start listening… we will hear that soft, still voice. Listen.
