Chapter 17 – The new way of worshiping God

Development of forms of worship

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1 How slowly humanity is moving towards the perfection of its worship of God!

2 Whenever I come to you with a new lesson, it appears too far ahead of your stage of development. But understand that I am placing an age at your disposal so that you can grasp it while it lasts and absorb it into your life. (99, 30 - 31)

3 The animal sacrifices that you offered on the altar of Jehovah were accepted by Him. But it was not the best way to lift up your Spirit to the Lord. Then I came to you as Jesus to teach you the Divine Commandment, which tells you to love one another.

4 Now I tell you that the teachings I made known to you in the "Second Age" through the works of Jesus were sometimes changed and sometimes misinterpreted. Therefore I have come, as I announced it to you, to illuminate my truth. My sacrifice then prevented many animal sacrifices, and I taught you a more perfect worship of God.

5 My new revelation in this time will cause mankind to understand that you must not use the symbolic cult forms without first interpreting their meaning, since they are only a symbolic representation of my teachings. (74, 28)

6 Prayer is the spiritual means I have inspired man to have dialogue with my divinity Therefore, from the beginning it manifested itself in you as a longing, as a need of the Spirit, as a refuge in the hours of the visitation.

7 He who does not know true prayer does not know the blessings it brings, does not know the source of health and benefits contained in it. He feels the impulse to approach me, to speak to me, and to bring his request before me; but since he lacks spirituality, the sacrifice of directing only his thoughts upwards seems so poor to him that he immediately looks for something material to offer me, because he thinks that with it he pays homage to me better.

8 In this way men have fallen into idolatry, fanaticism, rites, and outward cults, thereby suffocating their Spirit and depriving him of the blessed freedom to pray directly to his Father. Only when the pain is very intense, when the agony reaches the limits of human strength, does the Spirit free itself, forgetting formalities and overthrowing its idols, to rise up and cry out from the depths of its heart: "My Father, my God!

9 Do you see how in this time of materialism the peoples are busy making war against each other? But I tell you that many people there, in the midst of those war events, have discovered the mystery of prayer - that prayer which springs from the heart and comes to Me as an urgent cry for help, as a lament, as an imploring plea.

10 When they then experienced the requested miracle on their way, they knew that there is no other way to speak to God except in the language of the Spirit. (261, 22 - 24, 27)

Fake prayers without devotion and faith

11 O My children of all creeds, do not kill the noblest sensations of the Spirit, nor try to put up with outward customs and cults.

12 Look: When a mother has nothing material to offer her beloved little child, she presses it to her heart, blessing it with all her love, covering it with kisses, looking at it lovingly, bathing it with her tears; but never does she try to deceive it with empty gestures of love.

13 What makes you think that I, the Divine Master, approve that you are satisfied with the ritual acts, devoid of any spiritual value, truth and love, with which you try to deceive your Spirit, making him believe that he has been nourished when in reality he is becoming more and more ignorant of the truth? (21, 20 -21)

14 Prayer is a grace that God has given to man to serve him as a guide to rise up (spiritually), as a weapon to defend himself, as a book to teach himself, and as a balm to heal himself and recover from every illness.

15 True prayer has disappeared from the earth; people no longer pray, and when they try to do so, they do it with their lips instead of speaking to Me with the Spirit, using empty words, rites and pretences. How will people see miracles when they use forms and practices that Jesus did not teach?

16 It is necessary that true prayer return among men and it is I who am teaching it to you anew. (39, 12 -14)

17 Teach your fellow men to pray, make your fellow men understand that it is their Spirit who is to have dialogue with his Creator, so that they may realize that their prayers are almost always the cry of the body, the expression of fear, the proof of their lack of faith, their rebellion or distrust of Me

18 Make your fellow men understand that they need not chasten or maul their bodies to move my Spirit, to arouse my compassion or mercy. Those who impose bodily sufferings and penances on themselves do so because they have not the least knowledge of what the most pleasing sacrifices are for me, nor have any idea of my love and your Father's mercy.

19 Do you think that it takes tears in your eyes and pain in your hearts for Me to have mercy on you? This would mean to attribute hardness, insensitivity, indifference, and selfishness to Me. Can you imagine these faults in the God you love?

20 How little you have endeavored to know Me! The reason is that you have not trained your mind to think in accordance with the Spirit. (278, 17 - 20)

21 Leave the earth behind you today for a few moments and come to me in Spirit.

22 For many centuries men have failed to pray in the right way, so they have not strengthened themselves nor illuminated their way of life with my love, since they prayed by means of their senses and not by means of their Spirit.

23 The idolatry to which man is so inclined has been like a poison that has not let him enjoy the spiritual joys of inner prayer.

24 How much misery have men carried with them, just because they knew not how to pray! And this is only natural, disciples. For what spiritual strength can a human being have to withstand the temptations of life when he has nothing to approach the source of life that exists in my Spirit? It seeks me in the abysses, in the shadows, although it could rise to find me on the peaks, in the light.

Alas, if the people of this time did understand the power of prayer - how many superhuman works would they accomplish! But they are living through an epoch of materialism, in which they themselves try to materialize the divine in order to be able to touch and see it. (282, 61 - 64)

25 Alas, if the people of this time did understand the power of prayer - how many superhuman works would they accomplish! But they are living through an epoch of materialism, in which they themselves try to materialize the divine in order to be able to touch and see it. (282, 61 - 64)

The true prayer

26 I bless those who pray. The more spiritual their prayer is, the greater is the peace I make them feel.

27 This is easy for you to explain to yourselves; for those who, in order to pray, are dependent on kneeling before images or objects in order to feel the presence of the divine, will not be able to experience the spiritual sensation of the Father's presence in their heart.

28 "Blessed are those who believe without seeing," I said once, and now I say it again; for he who closes his eyes to the things of the world opens them to the spiritual, and he who has faith in my spiritual presence must feel it and enjoy it.

29 When will earthly men stop denying their spirit the bliss of feeling me in their heart by means of direct prayer or - which is the same - by prayer from spirit to spirit? Then, when my light enlightens the life of men, when they know the truth and understand their errors.

30 Now is the right time to pray and meditate; but with prayers free from fanaticism and idolatry and with calm and deep reflection on my Divine Word.

31 All hours and all places can be suitable for prayer and meditation. I have never told you in my teachings that there are places or moments that are specially designated for this. Why go to certain places in the world to pray, when your Spirit is greater than the world you inhabit? Why limit myself to images and such limited places, when I am infinite?

32 The most serious reason for men's spiritual poverty and their earthly blows of fate is their imperfect way of praying, which is why I tell you that this knowledge must reach all mankind (279, 2 -7)

33 You do not always pray with the same inner focus, so you do not always experience the same peace or inspiration.

34 There are occasions when you are inspired and uplifting; and there are others where you remain completely apathetic. How will you always receive my messages in the same way? You must educate your mind and even your body to cooperate with the Spirit in the moments of prayer.

35 The Spirit is always ready to unite with Me; but it needs the good condition of the body to be able to rise up in those moments and free itself from all that surrounds it in its earthly life

36 Make an effort to attain true prayer; for he who knows how to pray carries within himself the key to peace, health, hope, spiritual power and eternal life.

37 The invisible shield of my law will protect him from persecution and danger. In his mouth he will carry an invisible sword to strike down all adversaries who oppose his way. A lighthouse will light up his path in the midst of the storms. Constantly, a miracle will be within reach for him whenever he needs it, be it for himself or for the benefit of his fellow men.

38 Pray, exercise this high gift of the Spirit, for it will be this power that moves the lives of the people of the future - those people who (already) in the flesh will achieve the union of (their) spirit with (my) spirit.

39 The fathers of families will let themselves be given the inspirations through prayer to lead their children.

40 The sick will receive health through prayer. The rulers will solve their great problems by seeking the light in prayer, and the scientist will receive the revelations likewise through the gift of prayer. (40, 40 -47)

41 Disciples: In the "Second Age" my apostles asked Me how they should pray, and I taught them the perfect prayer which you call the "Our Father".

42 Now I tell you: Inspire yourselves by this prayer, by its meaning, by its humility and by its faith, so that your Spirit may be in dialogue with mine. For then it will no longer be the bodily lips that speak those blessed words, but the Spirit, who speaks to me with the language proper to him. (136, 64)

43 Take care that it is not only your lips that call me "Father," for many of you tend to do this mechanically. I want that when you say, "Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name," this prayer comes from the depths of your heart and you reflect on every sentence, so that you may be inspired afterwards and be in perfect communion with Me.

44 I have been teaching you the powerful and perfect prayer which really brings the child closer to the Father When you pronounce the word "Father" with fervor and reverence, with exaltation and love, with faith and hope, distances dwindle, space disappears, because in this moment of dialogue from Spirit to Spirit, God is neither far from you nor are you far from Him. Pray in this way, and you will receive in your hearts with full hands the benefit of my love. (166, 52 -53)

The four aspects of perfect prayer

45 Wrestle, wrestle for the attainment of spiritual perfection I have shown you the way to reach this goal. I have entrusted prayer to you as the "weapon" superior to any material weapon, to defend you against insidiousness on the way of life. But the best weapon you will have when you fulfill my law.

46 What does prayer consist of? prayer is supplication, intercession, worship, and spiritual contemplation. All its parts are necessary, and one comes out of the other. For in truth I tell you: The request consists in man asking Me to fulfill his desires, to satisfy his longings - that which he considers the most important and salutary thing in his life. And truly, I tell you, my children, the Father hears the request and gives to each one what he needs most whenever it is for his own good. But beware of asking for something that is contrary to the salvation of your Spirit. For those who ask only for material goods, for bodily delights and perishable power, ask to have their Spirit put in chains.

47 The bodily delights bring only suffering - not only in this world, but also after the transition to the spiritual world; for even there the influence of those bodily desires can reach; and because the Spirit cannot free itself from them, it continues to be tormented by those desires and wants to return again and again to earth to reincarnate and continue to live materially. Therefore, my children, ask only for what you really need for the good of your Spirit.

48 The second kind of prayer, intercession, comes from love for neighbor, that love which I taught you as Master when I came into this world. Pray for your brothers and sisters near and far, for those who are suffering the consequences of war in the different nations, who endure the tyranny of the transitory rulers of this world.

49 Prepare yourselves, O my children, pray for your fellow men, but also in this intercession you must understand how to ask, because what is important is the Spirit. If a brother, your parents, or your children are sick, pray for them, but do not insist that they remain in this life if this is not what the Spirit requires. Rather, pray that this Spirit may become free, that it may purify itself in its sufferings, that pain may promote spiritual upward development. This is why the Master taught you already in the "Second Time" to say, "Father, thy will be done. For the Father knows better than any of his children what the Spirit needs.

50 The third kind of prayer, veneration for the Divine Spirit, means veneration for all that is perfect; for by this kind of prayer you can unite yourselves with the perfection, with the love, which embraces the whole universe. In worship you can find the state of perfection which you must all attain, and worship leads you on to spiritual contemplation which, together with worship, brings you to union with the Divine Spirit, the source of Eternal Life - the source which gives you strength day by day to attain the Father's Kingdom.

51 So you shall pray: beginning with supplication and ending with spiritual contemplation. This will give you strength.

52 When you are then well equipped, you are to fight not only for yourselves, but also to help your fellow men to walk this way. For you cannot attain spiritualization for yourselves alone, but must struggle to attain the salvation of all mankind. (358, 10 - 17)

The spontaneous prayer of the heart without words

53 People, here is the voice of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual rallies of God by means of your minds, which does not reveal to you a new law or a new teaching, but a new, more advanced, spiritual, and perfect way of communicating with the Father, of receiving Him, and of worshipping Him. (293, 66)

54 How many are there who hear my word, who have become great exegetes of it, and yet they are not the best doers of my teaching, if they do not fulfill the divine commandment that says to you, "Love one another!

55 Behold, on the other hand, how easily he who applies even one atom of my teaching practically transforms himself. Would you like an example of this?

56 There was someone who all his life through word prayers told Me that he loved Me - prayers that others formulated, which he did not even understand because they consisted of words whose meaning he did not know. But soon he understood what the true way of praying was, and by putting aside his old habits, he focused on the innermost part of his Spirit, sending his thoughts up to God, and for the first time he felt His presence.

57 He did not know what to say to his master, his chest began to sob and his eyes to shed tears. In his mind only one sentence was formed, which read: "My Father, what can I say to you, when I do not understand how to speak to you?

58 But those tears, those sobs, that inner bliss, and even his confusion, spoke to the Father in a language so beautiful that you will never find it in your human languages, nor in your books.

59 That stammering of the man who begins to pray spiritually with his Lord resembles the first words of infants, which are bliss and delight to their parents because they hear the first utterances of a being who is beginning to rise to life. (281, 22 - 24)

60 The higher developed Spirit knows that the human word makes poor and diminishes the expression of spiritual thought. Therefore he lets the material lips be silent in order to rise up and to speak out in the language that alone God knows, the mystery that he carries hidden in the innermost part of his being. (11, 69)

61 How much joy you give my Spirit when I see you lifting up your thoughts in search of your Father! I let you feel my presence and flood you with peace.

62 Seek Me, speak to Me, do not mind that your thoughts are too clumsy to express your request; I will know how to understand them Speak to Me with the confidence with which one speaks to his Father. Entrust Me with your complaints as you would with your best friend. Ask Me what you do not know, all that is unknown to you, and I will speak to you with the words of the Master. But pray that in that blessed moment in which your Spirit rises to Me, you may receive the light, the power, the blessing and the peace which your Father grants you. (36, 15)

63 Tell Me in silence your sufferings, entrust to Me your desires Although I know everything, I want you to learn little by little to formulate your own prayer until you are ready to exercise the perfect dialogue of your Spirit with the Father. (110, 31)

64 The prayer can be long or short, depending on the need. You can, if you so desire, spend whole hours in that spiritual bliss when your body is not weary or when no other duty requires your attention. And it can be so short that it is limited to one second when you are subjected to some test that has suddenly taken you by surprise.

65 It is not the words with which your mind tries to form prayer that reach me, but the love, the faith or the trouble with which you show yourselves before me. That is why I tell you that there will be cases in which your prayer lasts only a second because there will be no time to formulate thoughts, sentences or ideas as you are used to.

66 Everywhere you can call on Me because for Me the place is indifferent, since what I seek is your Spirit. (40, 36 - 38)

67 In the Second Time, when a woman asked Jesus whether Jerusalem was the place where she should worship God, the Master answered her: "The time is coming when neither Jerusalem nor any other place will be the right place to worship God, for He will be worshiped in Spirit and in truth," that is, from Spirit to Spirit.

68 When my disciples asked Me to teach them to pray, I gave them as an example the prayer which you call "Our Father", by which I made them understand that the true, perfect prayer is that which, like that of Jesus, comes spontaneously from the heart and reaches up to the Father. It should contain obedience, humility, confession of guilt, gratitude, faith, hope and veneration. (162, 23 - 24)

The daily prayer

69 Beloved disciples: Practice daily spiritual prayer and put all your good will into perfecting yourselves.

70 Consider: besides entering into intimate communion with your Master and experiencing infinite peace in those moments, it is the best opportunity for you to receive my Divine inspirations. In them you will find the explanation for all that you have not understood or misunderstood. You will find the way to prevent any danger, to solve a problem, to eliminate any ambiguity. In that hour of blessed spiritual dialogue, all your senses will be illuminated, and you will feel more ready and inclined to do good. (308, 1)

71 Do not refrain from prayer, even if it is so short that it lasts no longer than five minutes; but in it, with the light of your conscience, submit yourselves to a close examination, so that you may keep your actions in mind and know what you have to improve.

72 If, in your uprising in prayer, you lose the concept of time, it will be a sign of spiritualization, since you will be able, if only for a few moments, to step out of time - that time which the slaves of materialism desire only for their pleasures or for the increase of their money.

73 He who tests himself daily will improve his way of thinking, living, speaking, and feeling. (12, 30 - 32)

74 I have taught you that wisdom is obtained by prayer; but therefore I do not want you to prolong your prayers. I have required of you the prayer of five minutes, and by this I mean that you should pray briefly so that in these moments you may truly surrender yourselves to your Father; but the rest of your time you should devote to your spiritual and material duties to your fellows. (78, 52)

75 I now teach you a certain way of equipping yourselves so that all your daily works may be inspired by noble sentiments, and so that the afflictions and difficulties may not hinder you nor make you retreat: When you open your eyes to the light of a new day, pray, approach Me through your thinking, then form your daily schedule inspired by My light, and now rise in the struggle for life. Be strong and do not for one moment violate obedience and faith.

76 Verily I say to you, soon your steadfastness and the result of your works will astonish you. (262, 7 - 8)

The day of rest as a day of self-contemplation

77 Already in the first time I taught you to consecrate the seventh day to Me. Since man devoted six days to the fulfillment of his worldly duties, it was only right that he consecrated at least one to the service of his Lord. I did not ask him to dedicate the first day to Me, but the last, so that he might rest in him from his toil and devote himself to spiritual contemplation, so that he might give his Spirit the opportunity to draw near to his Father and speak to him through prayer.

78 The day of rest was instituted so that man, in forgetting the hard earthly struggle of life, even if only for a short time, might give his conscience the opportunity to speak to him, to remind him of the law, and he might search himself, repent of his transgressions, and make noble intentions of repentance in his heart.

79 The Sabbath was the day formerly dedicated to rest, prayer, and the study of the law. But the people, in following tradition, forgot the brotherly feelings toward their fellow men and the spiritual duties they had toward their neighbors.

80 Times passed, humanity developed spiritually, and Christ came to teach you that you should also practice charity in the days of rest and do all good works.

81 Jesus wanted to tell you that while a day of reflection and physical rest is dedicated to you, you should understand that neither day nor hour could be predestined for the fulfillment of the Spirit's mission.

82 Although the Master spoke to you with the greatest clarity, men deviated from this, and each chose the day that was most suitable for him. Therefore, while some continued to keep the Sabbath as the day of rest, others chose Sunday to celebrate their services.

83 Today I speak to you once more, and my teachings bring you new insights. You have lived through and developed many experiences. Today it does not matter which day you dedicate to rest from the earthly toil, but it does matter that you know that you are to walk every day on the way I have marked out for you. Understand that there is no fixed hour for your prayer, for every time of day is suitable for prayer and for exercising my teaching for the benefit of your fellow men. (166, 31 - 35)

Ask and it will be given to you

84 You all carry a wound in your heart. Who could penetrate into your inner being as I did? I know your suffering, your grief and dejection in the face of so much injustice and ingratitude in your world. I know about the exhaustion of those who have lived and labored long on earth and whose existence is like a heavy burden for them. I know about the unfulfilledness of those who have been left alone in this life. To all of you I say, "Ask and it will be given to you," for I have come to give you that which you need from me, be it company, peace of mind, healing, tasks or light. (262, 72)

85 Fear not misery, for it is but temporary; and in it ye shall pray, and take the patience of Job as an example. Abundance will return, and then you will not have enough words to thank Me.

86 If sickness once oppresses you, O blessed sick, do not despair; your Spirit is not sick Rise to Me in prayer, and your faith and spiritualization will give you back the health of the body. Pray in the form I have taught you: spiritual. (81, 43 - 44)

87 In the moments of trial, pray a short but loud and sincere prayer, and you will feel comforted; and when you reach to be in harmony with your Lord, I will be able to say to you that my will is yours and your will is mine (35, 7)

88 Pray, but your prayer should be determined by your daily plans and works, this will be your best prayer. But if you want to address a thought to Me to express a request with him, tell Me only, "Father, thy will be done on me. With this you will ask for even more than you could understand and hope for, and this simple sentence, this thought, will simplify even more that "Our Father," which you asked me for in another time.

89 With this you have the prayer that asks for everything and that will speak best for you. But let not your lips say it, but let your heart feel it; for to say is not to feel, and if you feel it, you need not tell Me. I know to hear the voice of the Spirit and understand its language. Is there a greater joy for you than to know this? Or do you think that I am dependent on you telling me what I must do? (247, 52 - 54)

90 I have taught you to pray and ask for others; but I also hear you when you ask for yourselves. I accept this prayer. But I tell you that the time in which I gave you, because you were still immature, according to your request, is over. Now it is my will that you behave like disciples and offer me your Spirit and your heart while praying, but allow me to read in them and do my will. (296, 69)

91 When you question Me or ask Me, do not make an effort to try to explain your problem clearly to Me, nor do you make an effort to search in your mind for the best formulated sentences. It is enough for me if your Spirit at this moment detaches itself from the world and heart and mind are pure so that they can receive My inspiration. What good is it for you to say wonderful words to Me if you are not able to feel My presence within you? I know everything, and you need not explain anything to Me so that I can understand you. (286, 9 - 10)

92 If you are able to comprehend my teaching, it will give you many satisfactions, many opportunities for upward development. Learn to pray before you make any decision, because prayer is the perfect way to ask your Father, since in Him you long for light and strength to survive in the struggle of life.

93 When you pray, enlightenment will soon come to your mind, which will make you clearly distinguish what is good from what is evil, what is advisable from what you should not do, and this will be the most obvious proof that you have been able to prepare yourselves inwardly to hear the voice of conscience.

94 Bear your hardships with patience, and if you are not able to comprehend the meaning of your trials, pray, and I will reveal their meaning to you, that you may affirm them inwardly (333,61 - 62, 75)

95 Every time your lips or your thoughts say to me, "Lord, have mercy on me, have pity on my pain - Lord, do not deny me your forgiveness", then you prove your ignorance, your confusion, and how little you know Me

96 Tell me that I should have compassion on your pain? asking Me to have mercy on my children? Beg Me to forgive your sins - Me who is love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and compassion?

97 It is good that you seek to move those who have a hard heart on earth, and that you seek to arouse compassion in those who have not a trace of compassion for their neighbor with tears and pleading; but do not use those phrases or thoughts to move Him who created you out of love, and to love you eternally. (336, 41 - 43)

98 Be content with the great benefits the Father has bestowed upon you in regard to all that pertains to human life on earth Do not ask for that which might be destructive to your Spirit and your body [matter]. I have more to give you than you could ask of Me. But it is I who know what you really lack on the path of life. I have told you: if you know how to fulfill my law, you will see me in all my glory. (337, 21)

The blessing of intercession

99 Do not get used to praying only with words, pray with the Spirit. I also tell you: bless with prayer, send thoughts of light to your fellow men, ask nothing for yourselves; remember: The one who deals with what is mine will always have me as watchman over him.

100 The seed which you sow with love you will receive back in manifold ways. (21, 3 - 4)

101 Pray not only when you are going through a painful trial, pray also when you are at peace, because then your hearts and your minds will be able to be occupied with the others Nor pray only for those who have done you good, or for those who have not harmed you; for although this is meritorious, it is not so great as when you intercede for those who have harmed you in any way. (35, 8)

102 What am I teaching you now? to bless all and all with heart and Spirit; for he who blesses in this way is like his Father when he gives his warmth to all Therefore I say to you: Learn to bless with Spirit, with thought, with the heart, and your peace, your strength and your warmth of heart will reach the one to whom you send it, however far you may believe him.

103 What would happen if all men were to bless one another, even without knowing one another, nor ever having seen one another? perfect peace would reign on earth, war would be unimaginable!

104 For this miracle to become a reality, you must lift up your Spirit through perseverance in virtue. Do you think this is impossible? (142, 31 m.)

105 Ask, and it will be given to you. Everything that you long for for the good of your fellow men - ask Me for it. Ask, combine your request with that of the needy, and I will grant you what you ask for. (137, 54)

The necessity of prayer

106 "Watch and pray," I tell you again and again; but I do not want you to become accustomed to this kind advice, but to think about it and act accordingly.

107 I call you to pray, because he who does not pray gives himself up to superfluous, material and sometimes nonsensical thoughts, whereby, without being aware of it, he favors and nourishes fratricidal wars. But when you pray, your thinking, as if it were a sword of light, tears apart the veils of darkness and the snares of temptation that imprison many beings today; it saturates your surroundings with spiritual power and counteracts the forces of evil. (9, 25 - 26)

108 Men have always been too busy with the glories of the earth to think about the importance of praying and spiritual contemplation of what lies beyond this life, so that they could have discovered their own core of being He who prays speaks to the Father, and when he asks, he immediately receives an answer. People's ignorance of the spiritual is a consequence of the lack of prayer. (106, 33)

109 You are going towards a time when you will be able to give your Spirit in a just way what is due to him and to the world what is due to you It will be a time of true prayer, a devotion to God free from fanaticism, where you pray before every undertaking, where you know how to preserve what has been entrusted to you.

110 How could man make a mistake if, instead of doing his will, he would first of all ask his Father in prayer? He who prays lives in communion with God, knows the value of the benefits he receives from his Father, and at the same time understands the meaning or purpose of the trials he is going through. (174, 2 - 3)

The healing effects of prayer life

111 At all times I have told you: pray. Today I tell you that through prayer you can obtain wisdom. If all men prayed, they would never stray from the path of light which was marked out by Me. Through prayer the sick would be healed, there would be no more unbelievers, and peace would return to the spirit beings.

112 How can man be happy when he has rejected my grace? Does he think that love, mercy and gentleness are not qualities of human life? (69, 7 - 8)

113 Know that the word that has no love in it has neither life nor power You ask Me how you can begin to love and what you must do so that this feeling awakens in your hearts, and I tell you this: what you must begin with is to be able to pray properly. It will bring you closer to the Master, and that Master is Me.

114 In prayer you will find comfort, inspiration and strength; it will give you the delicious satisfaction of being able to talk to God in confidence without witnesses and mediators God and your Spirit are united in this sweet moment of intimacy, spiritual dialogue and blessings. (166, 43 - 44)

115 Whenever you need a confidant, a kind friend, turn to Me and put aside with Me the sufferings that may be in your hearts and I will advise you the best way - the solution you seek

116 If your Spirit is depressed by the burdens, it is because you have sinned. I will receive you and be benevolent in my judgment, will strengthen your resolve to mend your ways and give you back your lost strength.

117 Only the observance of my teachings will keep you in grace and maintain your spiritual and physical health. The experience you gain will be light which you gradually accumulate in your Spirit. (262, 20 - 21)

118 The Spirit, who knows how to live vigilantly, never deviates from the path which his Lord has laid out for him, and he is able to apply his inheritance and his gifts until he has reached his higher development

119 This being must advance in the trials because it lives vigilantly and never lets itself be dominated by matter. Whoever watches and prays will always emerge victorious from life's crises and walk the path of life with firm steps.

120 How different is the behavior of one who forgets to pray and to watch! He voluntarily renounces to defend himself with the best weapons I have put in man, which are faith, love and the light of knowledge. It is he who does not hear the inner voice that speaks to him through intuition, conscience and dreams. But his heart and his mind do not understand that language and do not believe the message of his own Spirit. (278, 2 - 3)

121 Prayer is the means revealed to your Spirit to come to Me with your questions, your worries and your desire for light Through this dialogue you can disperse your doubts and tear away the veil that hides some mystery.

122 Prayer is the beginning of the Spirit to Spirit dialogue that will blossom in the coming times and bear fruit among this humanity.

123 Today I have revealed all this to this people who listen to Me, so that they may be the forerunners of the time of spiritualization (276, 18 - 19)

The power of prayer

124 When one of you prays, he is not conscious of what he achieves with his thoughts in the spiritual Therefore, you are to experience that when you pray for your fellow men - for those peoples who destroy themselves in war - your Spirit, in these moments, strikes in turn a mental battle against evil, and that your sword, which is peace, reason, justice, and the desire for good for them, encounters the weapons of hatred, revenge, pride.

125 Now the time has come for men to become aware of the power of prayer. So that prayer really has power and light, it is necessary that you send it up to me with love. (139, 7 - 8)

126 Thoughts and Spirit, united in prayer, create in man a power superior to any human power

127 In prayer the weak is strengthened, the coward is filled with courage, the ignorant is enlightened, the timid becomes impartial.

128 If the Spirit is able to work harmoniously with the mind to achieve true prayer, he becomes an invisible soldier, temporarily distancing himself from what concerns his being, moving to other places, freeing himself from the influence of the body and devoting himself to his struggle to do good, to banish evil and danger, to bring a spark of light, a drop of balm or a breath of peace to the needy.

129 Understand, on the basis of all that I tell you, how much you are able to do with Spirit and with mind in the midst of the chaos that has seized this humanity. You are in a world of opposing thoughts and ideas, where passions rage and feelings of hatred clash, where thinking is confused by materialism and spirit beings are surrounded by darkness.

130 Only those who have learned by means of prayer to rise mentally and spiritually into the regions of light, the spheres of peace, will be able to enter the world of struggles, in which all human passions are reflected, without being defeated, and on the contrary leave behind something useful for those who need the light of the Spirit. (288, 18 - 22)

131 Learn to pray, for with prayer you can also do much good, just as you can defend yourselves against treachery Prayer is both shield and weapon; if you have enemies, defend yourselves by prayer. But know that this weapon must not wound or harm anyone, because its sole purpose is to bring light into darkness. (280, 56)

132 The forces of nature are unleashed against man. You are not to fear because you know that I have given you a power of attorney to defeat evil and to protect your fellow men. You can command those elements of destruction to pause, and they will obey. If you remain praying and waking, you will be able to do wonders and amaze the world.

133 Pray sincerely, create communion with my Spirit, do not go to any particular place for it. Pray under a tree, on the way, on the top of a mountain or in the corner of your sleeping place, and I will come down to speak to you, to enlighten you and give you strength. (250, 24 - 25)

134 Verily, I tell you, if you were already united in Spirit, in thought and will, your prayer alone would be enough to stop the nations that are living in preparation for the hour when they will come to attack one another You would eliminate the enmities, be an obstacle to all those evil plans of your fellow men, be like an invisible sword that defeats the powerful, and like a strong shield that protects the weak.

135 Mankind would pause for a moment for reflection in the face of these apparent evidences of a higher power, and this reflection would spare it many of the severe blows and afflictions it would otherwise receive from nature and its elements. (288, 27)

136 If ye had a great faith and a greater knowledge of the power of prayer, how many works of mercy would ye do by your mind? But you have not given it all the power it possesses, and therefore you often do not realize what you are turning away in a moment of truly felt and true prayer.

137 Do you not perceive that something higher prevents the most inhuman of all your wars from breaking out on your world? Do you not understand that this miracle is influenced by millions of prayers of men, women, and children who, with their Spirit, fight the dark forces and counteract the warfare? Continue to pray, continue to watch, but put into this activity all the faith you are capable of.

138 Pray, people, and spread over war, pain and misery the peace cloak of your thoughts, with which you will form a shield, under whose protection your fellow men will find enlightenment and refuge. (323,24 - 26)

Love for God and neighbor as worship of God

139 Know, O my new disciples, that your homage and your tribute to the Lord shall be constant, without waiting for certain times or days to offer them, even as your Father's love for you is constant. But if you want to know how you are to remember my works of love daily without falling into fanaticism, I will tell you: your life is to be a constant homage to Him who created everything by loving one another.

140 Act in this way and I will grant you what you humbly ask Me for: that your transgressions be forgiven you I comfort you and give you relief; but I tell you When you discover your faults and judge your conscience, pray, correct your faults, arm yourselves with strength so that you do not commit the same sin again and you do not have to ask Me repeatedly to forgive you. My word teaches you so that you may ascend and give access to light and spiritualization. (49, 32 - 33)

141 "I am thirsty," I said to that crowd of people who did not understand my words and grazed in my agony. What could I say today when I see that it is not only a crowd, but the whole world that hurts my Spirit without being aware of my pain?

142 My thirst is infinite, incomprehensibly great, and only your love will be able to quench it. Why do you offer Me an outward cult instead of love? Do you not know that while I ask you for water, you offer Me bile and vinegar? (94, 74 - 75)

143 Verily, I tell you, those very ones who have suffered much and have often hurt Me will love Me most ardently, an offering for My divinity will constantly flow out of their heart They will not be material gifts, nor psalms, nor earthly altars. They know that the most pleasing sacrifice and veneration for me are the works of love they do to their brothers. (82, 5)

144 Day by day your spiritual prayer reaches me, whose language does not know your earthly nature because it is not words spoken by your lips, nor ideas formed by your intellect The prayer of the Spirit is so deep that it is beyond human abilities and senses.

145 In that prayer the Spirit enters the regions of light and peace, where high spirits dwell, and there he saturates himself on that essence and then returns to his perishable body to transmit power to it (256, 63 - 64)

146 The time has come for you to know how to pray. Today I do not tell you to fall to the earth, I do not teach you to pray with your lips or to call on Me with chosen words in beautiful prayers. Today I say to you: Turn to me in your thoughts, lift up your Spirit, and I will always come down to make my presence palpable to you. If you do not know how to speak with your God, your repentance, your thoughts, your pain will be enough for Me, your love will be enough for Me.

147 This is the language that I hear, that I understand, the language without words, that of truthfulness and sincerity. This is the prayer which I have taught you in this Third Time.

148 Whenever you have done a good work, you have always felt my peace, reassurance and hope, because then the Father is very near to you. (358, 53 - 55)

149 I scorn all that is human vanity and human splendor, for only that which is spiritual, noble and generous, pure and eternal, reaches my Spirit. Remember that I told the woman from Samaria, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Seek Me in the infinite, in the pure, and there you will find Me.

150 Why offer Me what I have created for you? Why do you give Me flowers when they are not your work? But if you offer Me works of love, mercy, forgiveness, justice, help for your neighbour, this tribute will certainly be spiritual and will rise to the Father like a caress, like a kiss that children send to their Lord from earth. (36, 26 + 29)

151 Neither do I want you to limit your worship of God to material meeting places, for you would then imprison your Spirit and not let him spread his wings to win eternity.

152 The altar that I leave to you to celebrate on it the divine service that I expect is life itself without any limitation, beyond all religions, all churches and sects, because it is founded in the spiritual, in the eternal, in the divine. (194,27 - 28)

The dialogue between God and man

153 Today I come to you with a teaching which, once understood, is the easiest to fulfill, even if it seems to the world that it is impossible to realize. I teach you the worship of love for God through your lives, works, and spiritual prayer, which is not spoken from the lips in any particular place, nor requires cultic acts or images to be inspired. (72, 21)

154 While men wanted to recognize in me a distant, unapproachable God, I resolved to prove to them that I am closer to them than the lashes to their eyes

155 They pray mechanically, and, if they do not immediately see realized everything they have asked for in an urgent way, they cry out discouragedly, "God has not heard us.

156 If they understood to pray, if they would unite heart and mind with their Spirit, they could hear in their spirit the Divine Voice of the Lord and feel that His presence is very near to them. But how do they want to feel my presence when they ask me by means of externalized cults? How should they achieve that their Spirit becomes sensitive when they even worship their Lord in images made by their hands?

157 I want you to understand that I am very close to you, that you can easily connect with Me, feel Me and receive My inspirations (162, 17 - 20)

158 Practise the silence that helps the Spirit to find his God. This silence is like a source of knowledge, and all who enter into it are filled with the clarity of my wisdom. Silence is like a place enclosed by indestructible walls, to which only the Spirit has access. Man constantly carries within himself the knowledge of the secret place where he can connect with God.

159 The place where you are is unimportant; everywhere you can connect with your Lord, whether you are on the top of a mountain or in the depths of a valley, in the turmoil of a city, in the peace of your home, or in the midst of a battle. If you seek Me within your sanctuary in the deep silence of your upliftment, the gates of the universal and invisible temple will open instantly so that you may truly feel yourselves in your Father's house, which is present in every Spirit.

160 When the pain of trials depresses you, and the sufferings of life destroy your feelings, when you feel a hot desire to obtain a little peace, retire to your sleeping chamber or seek the silence, the solitude of the fields; there, guided by conscience, raise up your Spirit and immerse yourselves. Silence is the kingdom of the Spirit, a kingdom invisible to the physical eyes.

161 In the moment of entering into the spiritual rapture, one achieves that the higher senses awaken, intuition sets in, inspiration lights up, the future can be foreseen, and the spiritual life clearly recognizes what is distant and makes possible what previously seemed unreachable.

162 If you want to enter the silence of this sanctuary, this treasure chamber, you must prepare the way yourselves, for only with true purity will you be able to enter it. (22, 36 - 40)

163 It is necessary that my prophets rise again to admonish mankind. For while there are peoples who are destroying themselves, blinded by ambition and violence, those who have received my light and are impartially judging humanity are afraid to tackle their task and pass on the Good News.

164 If people understood to pray with the Spirit, they would hear my voice, they would receive my inspiration. But every time they pray, there is a veil over their spiritual eyes that hides from them the light of my presence. I must come to people in the moments when their bodies are at rest, to awaken their Spirit, to call to it and speak to it. It is Christ who penetrates your heart like a thief in deep night to sow in it His seed of love. (67, 29)

165 Learn to pray and meditate at the same time, so that knowledge and understanding may come to light in each of you (333, 7)

166 Spirituality is freedom. Therefore, those who hear Me at present and who have understood the meaning of this liberating teaching see how a wide valley opens before them, in which they will fight and bear witness to the fact that the time has come in which God, the Almighty Creator, came to introduce dialogue between Him and man. (239, 8)

167 The teaching of Christ was spiritual, but man surrounded it with rites and forms to bring it into the grasp of the spirit beings of low exaltation.

168 You have entered the time of the Spirit of the great revelations, in which out of every cult will disappear the materialization, deceit and imperfection, in which every man will know, by means of his Spirit, his God, who is all spirit. In this way he will discover the form of perfect dialogue. (195, 77 - 78)

169 Once people have learned to dialogue with my Spirit, they need not look up books or ask questions.

170 Today they still ask those whom they believe they know more, or they are in search of scriptures and books - in the desire to find the truth. (118, 37)

171 If you would learn to meditate daily for a short time, and if your meditation would concern the spiritual life, you would discover infinite explanations and receive revelations that you could not obtain in any other way.

172 Your Spirit already possesses enough light to question me and receive my answer. The Spirit of man has already reached a great height of development. Observe your fellow men from humble circumstances, who, despite their lack of knowledge, surprise you with their profound observations, and with the clear way in which they explain to themselves what is something inexplicable to many others. Do they draw this from books or schools? No. But out of intuition or necessity they have discovered the gift of meditation, which is part of spiritual prayer. In their seclusion, shielded from influences and prejudices, they have discovered the way to enter into contact with the Eternal, the spiritual, the true; and some more, some less, all those who have meditated on the true essence of life have received spiritual light in their minds. (340, 43 - 44)

173 You ask Me what prayer consists in, and I answer you: To permit your spirit to freely ascend to the Father; to surrender yourselves to that act with complete trust and faith; to receive in heart and mind the impressions received by the Spirit; to affirm the Father's will with true humility. Those who pray in this way enjoy my presence at every moment of their lives and never feel needy. (286,11)

174 In the purest of his being, in the Spirit, in this time I will write down my law, I will make my voice heard, I will build my temple; for what is not in the inner man, what is not in his Spirit, is as if it did not exist.

175 Whether huge material churches are built in my honor, whether ceremonies and celebrations full of splendor are offered to me - this offering will not reach me because it is not spiritual. Every outward cult always carries vanity and display within itself; the secret offering, on the other hand - that which the world does not see, and which you offer me from spirit to spirit - reaches me because of its modesty, its sincerity, its truthfulness, in a word: because it sprang from the Spirit.

176 Recall that parable of Me which was given to you in the "Second Age" and which is known as the parable of the Pharisee and publican, and you will see that my teaching was the same at all times (280, 68)

177 Do you know that some are loved without deserving it? That is how I love you. Give Me your cross, give Me your tribulations, give Me your failed hopes, give Me the heavy burden you carry. I will deal with all pain. Feel free from your burden so that you may be happy; enter into the sanctuary of My love and be silent before the altar of the universe so that your Spirit may communicate with the Father in the most beautiful language: that of love. (228,73