Say a Prayer, Then Get to Work

Cracked Grace

Work and Prayer 

Ask and You Shall Receive—Maybe Not

Pray for it. Just pray. Say a prayer and then let go. Release your desires to the universe, to God, to the cosmos: Choose one thing you want, you really, really want. Pray. Release. Let Go. And then prepare to receive because all of the wonderful things we desire, dream for, and hope for shall manifest themselves in abundance. We simply must be open for those gifts to show up in our lives. See it, imagine it, and it becomes real. Create it in your mind, your psyche, your heart and it becomes real. The Secret told us. The Power of Positive Thinking told us. The Bible told us. Gurus by the thousands told us.

Maybe not. I don’t dispute that prayer, sending desires, thoughts, and well wishes from ourselves to others and the universe around us have no value. I don’t dispute that generating positive karma and thinking positive have no value.

I visualized the stairs looking like this.

A desire, a wish, a prayer, a thought do have value, but alas, they are limited. I love to garden. I can visualize an English cottage garden in my yard. I can send the universe a message that a lovely garden is my heart’s desire. I can pray for the delight of flowers, bees, butterflies, and intoxicating scents. That garden will manifest only when I get outside and start digging, planting, and weeding. I have to do the work.

To make that vision a reality, I had to do the work.

I love to write, but it’s not easy. I must first plant myself in my chair, defy distractions, and quiet the naysayers (mostly in my mind) that would keep me from putting pen to paper or fingertips to keys. I have to do the work.

The painter has to sit at the easel and pick up the brush, pen, or chalk. The photographer must invest in equipment, study subjects, check lighting, and do all that creating an outstanding photo involves. Painters and photographers must do the work.

The out-of-shape, overweight, lethargic would-be runner can send all his or her desires to the cosmos and imagine a lithe, strong, healthy body and mind. Again, he or she must put on the running shoes and get to work.

Prayer, positive thoughts, visualizations, and desires do not create art. They do not create rewards. They do not create success. They do not create the life any of us wants or desires. They are the first step, of course, but the next step—perhaps the most important step—involves putting forth the necessary effort—doing the work. Only by doing the work will any of us receive the rewards of our visualizations, imaginations, positive thoughts, and yes, our prayers.