Do prayers always work? There is so much evil round in the environment and we get affected and end up with no choice but receiving a lot of negativism from the environment. After all, not all are lucky to be in the company of very positive people and saints all the time. If certain situations or people drain us, will prayer help us to deal with it? Don’t think always, though the Bible says that prayers never go unanswered.
—Akshaya, India
Well — some people would say that the short answer is “No” — or else they would have won the lottery! Okay, seriously, Paramhansa Yogananda said that God hears and answers all prayers — but restless ones only a little bit. He also said that “Environment is stronger than willpower,” so please do what you can to improve your own inner environment, at least. Take hold of your thoughts and feelings, and learn to lift them upwards toward the point between the eyebrows. This video and affirmation will help you to lift your energy almost immediately.
Please also find ways to be helpful to others, and in this way also improve your environment, according to your current strengths and abilities. When we become part of the solution, we enter a flow of positive energy that sustains us. Swami Kriyananda would often quote Yogananda saying, “Remember, service is joy!”
Everyday do something to help someone in your world. I understand your feelings of discouragement, we all get them from time to time, even if we live in a spiritual environment. The point is to do something about those feelings.
Several weeks ago I was very concerned about the state of things in the Middle East because it looked like it could escalate into a WW III situation, and I felt the downward pull of deep discouragement, for what could I do about it? So even though I live surrounded by positive people, the very negative and painful situation on the other side of the world was very real to me. But then I realized I could write a prayer visualization and ask others to pray along with me. And there have been surprising steps toward diplomatic solutions since then, and the prospect of WW III has been averted, at least for now. So did those prayers, and those of other groups, work? I truly think so, for there were many uncanny and positive surprises as the situation unfolded.
This is God’s creation and we are all part of it, and we have free will to lift ourselves and others up, or to sink down within it. Paramhansa Yogananda often reminded his followers: “Choose to be a cause, not an effect in this world.”
In any magnetic interchange, what you give out to others will affect what you receive from them. To ensure the greatest protection from all harmful influences, try to act as a channel of divine blessings to all.
—Swami Kriyananda, Living Wisely, Living Well
