Lessons In Truth - Lesson 8 - Annotation 5
Will beseeching bring spiritual understanding? Does spiritual understanding come to one who is seeking with selfish motives?
5. Beseeching will not bring spiritual understanding, nor will it bring the realization of God's Presence and Power within us, because spiritual understanding is an ever-expanding revelation of Truth in our own consciousness. In one sense we do not "get" spiritual understanding nor is it brought to us, but rather it is the "gift of God" that comes through growth and unfoldment.
As the word beseeching is commonly used it means to implore, to beg, but often it accompanies a feeling of fear that the request may be turned down. We can see, therefore, that beseeching could not have any part in our attainment of spiritual understanding. When we entertain feelings of fear, distrust, anxiety, or doubt we clog the channel (our own consciousness) through which Spirit wishes to reveal Truth. When we tune into one particular channel on TV or radio station, we get only what is being broadcast from that particular station. If we do not "tune in" to God in faith we cannot expect to become aware consciously of His revelations, or spiritual understanding. We must have an abiding faith in God and a genuine desire to be guided and governed by the Christ Spirit. God completed His creation by implanting the gift of His own nature in man. We can have all of His good that we are ready to accept and express. We do not need to beg Him to give it to us. Certainly spiritual understanding is part of this good that is ours for the claiming. Probably one of the greatest lessons we have to learn is "how to take that which God freely offered" (Emilie Cady Lessons In Truth 8:12).
Spiritual understanding cannot come to anyone whose motives are selfish, for spiritual understanding is the power of God moving through an enlightened consciousness to bless the world as well as the individual. We cannot use God for our own selfish purposes, but rather God uses us to uplift and bless all creation as we let go of all erroneous beliefs in our consciousness and open ourselves to His direction and guidance. All of us must come to the point of desiring spiritual understanding for the good of all, knowing that what blesses one, blesses all. If we feel any sense of separation from other members of the human race, we cannot become illumined with spiritual understanding for it can only come into a consciousness free of a belief in separation from our Father-Mother God and from our fellow man.
Spiritual understanding in the form of divine ideas is accepted as a "gift of God" by our thinking and feeling only after beliefs of selfishness, fear, and distrust are erased from our mind. If we ask for this "gift of God" before we have cleansed our mind and heart to receive it, we are asking amiss. If we cannot believe that God will answer our prayer, this too can cause a mental block that prevents the acceptance of God's revelations.
If we seek the spiritual life simply to get something for ourselves alone, we are being self-centered or selfish. When Jesus was preaching at Nazareth He said, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself" (Luke 4:23 A.V.), We know that we must seek God and His inspiration in order to "heal" ourselves of all that is less than the God standard, but it must never be just for ourselves alone. Rather our work is to bring the kingdom of God upon the earth for all men. We cannot have the understanding we seek until our seeking is based on the highest motives.
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Preceding Entry: Can one person reveal God to another? Where must we all seek, and when do we become conscious of the indwelling Father?
Following Entry: When we ask for spiritual understanding and do not receive it, what is the reason?
