Emmet Fox: Fox: Prayer of Abundance Today, I accept God’s gift of abundance. Today everything that I AM and have, that is Good, is increased. I identify everything I do with success. I think affirmatively. And with all my prayers, I accept abundance. Whatever I need, whenever I need it, wherever I need it, for as long as I need it, will always be at hand. I no longer see negation or delay or stagnation in my undertakings. Rather, I claim that the action of the Living Spirit prospers everything I do, increases every Good I possess and brings success to me and everyone I meet. Everything I think about and do is animated by the Divine Presence, sustained by the Infinite Power, and multiplied by the Divine Goodness. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit One God forever and ever. Amen
At a glance With this Prayer of Abundance, Emmet Fox serves on a silver platter the way in which we should approach a positive attitude towards what we receive. He is very much aware of the laws at work: what we are grateful for, we receive more of. This works the other way around too: negativity will attract negativity. To be grateful every day is not easy as s imple as it may seem. “Things” get in t he way of life and our energy levels can fluctuate enormously. A tiny event can send the Ego crazy; our energy levels then explode throwing gratitude to a wasteland depot making it difficult to go through the recovery process. In these cases our gratitude approach needs support. When we are feeling that life is “not going our way” we can claim this support. Ask for guidance – a good practice is to ask for direction every morning as you wake up. The same way some peopl e go for a jog/run before having breakfast, we can keep the Ego at bay by asking the Universe, Spiritual Realm, God or your favourite word to direct your thinking, divorcing it from self-pity, dishonest or selfseeking motives. As we go through the day and we encounter “problems”, we can (and should) also ask for directions; an intuitive thought exactly as your perception of a problem unfolds. You will be surprised at the clarity you can gain with this appro ach (AA’s Step 11 requires the person to do this i n the morning together with meditation and a prayer for guidance all through the day). There are many forms of prayer (thinking prayer (thinking IS praying) and gratitude is most definitely a fantastic way to say: “yep, I like this stuff, keep bringing it on”. Think of it like our way of letting the Universe know we checkmark in green the thing, situation, person, feeling, or relevant condition.
A closer look
“Today, I accept God’s gift of abundance”
Emmet Fox is clear about having gratitude today. Future is in the making and past is gone – gratitude for the now is what works; as no w IS always. In his prayer, “I AM” is capitalised, and comes before “and have”, placing Being before having (Spi rit before experience). One causes the other to be; Being is cause, experience is consequence. It then makes sense to be the grateful Being that experiences the condition. I find this extremely important – we are placed in a position of embracing who we are rather than what we have. The second (also secondary in nature) defines the first and so it is important as well; but what we have (or consequence) also changes as we go along, while Spirit is fixed. Both work together in unison, creating harmony when acceptance acts as the mediator. “Today everything that I AM and have, that is Good, is increased.”
“Good” in capitals can be read as “God” easily - everything I AM and I have is God. Claiming its increase is claiming more of God’s presence. How very si mple! Extravagance is for the confused; for they manipulate different feelings and situations in order to avoid purity of heart, which to many is synonym of boredom. The extravagant are truly avid Seekers and should be (along with the rest of the world) respected for it. One more thing; the moment we realise all we are doing is claiming more of God’s presence, we instantly understand, know and embrace the action of Receiving . That is another way of saying we allow ourselves to be worthy of ; as the main problem with asking for “more” is feeling – deep inside that we don’t deserve it. But we do. Oliver Twist knew this very well when he asked for more because he was innocent. Innocence is for the mighty in Spirit – it knows no walls. “I identify everything I do with success.”
To identify means to recognise; “to establish the identity of “. Everything, of course, includes everything. The more I recognise my success by re cognising success in all my affairs the more I understand I’m on the right path (or what I consider to be the right path in my journey). This is a clever device; the moment we can’t identify what we d o with a feeling of success we will try to avoid it or change our behavioural patterns towards it. I said it was clever, not that we actually put it into practice when needed (which is the moment we become aware of it). But at least it gives us a start. Willingness, as many of us kno w, will get us there eventually. So, identify everything you do with success and whatever you think needs to be cor rected will happen in time if you take the appropriate steps. “I think affirmatively. And with all my prayers, I accept abundance.”
Acceptance is the key. Thinking affirmatively is to assert t hat something is true. Abundance is indeed true (as it it is already happening ) and these words open the door for more of it. Remember that thinking in present terms is paramount. If we ask for abundance in the future, a claim f or abundance to stay in the future is made by definition. We want it NOW. This prayer for abundance extends itself to ALL other pr ayers, opening them to accept this abundance. It acts in a way that goes far and beyond its boxed content; claiming its energy to be present in the rest of the prayers. Fantastic.
“Whatever I need, whenever I need it, wherever I need it, for as long as I need it, will always be at hand.”
Whatever, whenever, wherever. Everything and anything. God’s power is limitless. Read i t again: God’s power is limitless. Now believe it. Don’t try to understand it; our limited brains j ust can’t and you would be wasting time as well as inviting doubt, which is the killer of results in prayer. As you can clearly see the opposite of doubt is, of course, Faith. “I no longer see negation or delay or stagnation in my undertakings.”
It is important for Emmet Fox to include an affirmative approach to “what we don’t want”. We don’t fight it, we don’t reject it… we just “can’t see it” any long er. By not seeing it we are also affirming it i s simply not there. Please understand that refusing the negative gives it power. The more you don’t want something, the more you will have of “it”. Try pushing a wall and se nse how it “seems” to push back with a vengeance (remember the Spirit knows no walls, for they only exist in our minds as fabricated problems). Accept the walls’ presence and watch it disappear eventually. It is always when you are ready to realise that t here was never a wall in the fir st place that the “disappearing event” will occur. “Rather, I claim that the action of the Living Spirit prospers everything I do, increases every Good I possess and brings success to me and everyone I meet.”
Thinking of others will result in our well being. It is a mathematical equation: the more I help you, the more I am helping myself. I’m not sure how practical it is to have full awareness of this approach. Unconditional love is priceless (you can’t buy it because it is not a business transaction as opposed to what we usually understand in society by ”love”). Either way, helping others guarantees our success. Whether you’re doing it b ecause you’re thinking of yourself first and foremost, or because your nature claims others’ wellbeing and self-forgets, remember you are in the perfect place and at the perfect moment of your journey. Notice the words “increases every Good I possess” in this abundance prayer, which basically mean “increases the God in me” A paradox also takes place: the desired (and ultimate) attitude is to be 1) grateful for what we have, and 2) restless about getting more of it! Increase in prosperity and success are the key words. Make them your mantra. “Everything I think about and do is animated by the Divine Presence, sustained by the Infinite Power, and multiplied by the Divine Goodness.”
Now you know what “Divine Goodness” really means. Whatever our thoughts and actions are, Divine Presence envelops our Being. This Presence carries power with it (Infinite P ower); imagine what that dosage can do/is doing for your life!
It doesn’t stop there. God multiplies it. He CAN multiply the infinite, something completely incomprehensible to us. Again, Trust (Faith) is needed. Belief will come in time, as you see the results. “In Jesus Christ’s name I pray, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit One God forever and ever.”
To pray in the name of the Christ is to pray for all of us (One God; One Son). The Holy Spirit is the energy that brings God and us closer together. As we believe in being separate from Him (by believing in the illusory walls or problems) it is difficult at times to understand that in Reality there isn’t (and never was) any separation. T he Holy Spirit is the action of repairing this err or in perception, and takes into account what we believe to be our needs, wants and lacks. Nothing makes the Holy Spirit happier than us gaining in clarity as we go through our journey. It is Grateful It can do this for us; t he action of waking your brother or sister up from a nightmare makes you understand this gratitude straight away, doesn’t it. Here’s another way for you to see it: God is the Conceiver or Conceptor. The Son (Jesus and All of Us) is the Conceived, while the Holy Spirit is the Concept. Forever and ever states that we are simply – always – OK.
Acceptance: part of a package deal Acceptance, gratitude and forgiveness; those are the three elements of the Divine Package. God, Son, Holy Spirit live within your body, spirit and mind. Get your package in order and all shall be well. Don’t beat yourself up if the tool of time is needed to allow for a harmonious co -existence of these three aspects of your Self. Time is the needed tool for us to get there, so use it with patience. Accepting you are and that you deserve, gratitude when receiving and forgiveness of others and self will buy you a piece of Heaven… on Earth. Acceptance, being by definition an opposite of perfection (we wouldn’t have to accept something if we didn’t need it in the first place) is a process. Simply allow it. At the same time, enjoy your Abundance. You’ve got lots of it. Acknowledgements: Emmet Fox
