The Perfect Prayer

Long ago and far away survived a nation that had lived through Hell. The details aren't necessary. That the smoke had risen and suffering ended is enough. What is important is what the people did the first morning after Death passed by.

Once they knew that all danger was over, they gathered in a great field. Each knew there was no threat except falling back into their old ways. But they also knew that they could guide themselves, that their destiny had always been in their hands but they hadn't known it. Now they did. And now they would act so that their people would not only survive but thrive and through many generations, too. They had lost sight of God and were almost destroyed. Now they knew the secret of life: to believe in God and thereby be blessed by Him.

The people knelt. Humbly they opened themselves to the Almighty. With no priest or spokesman to intervene for them, every individual spoke directly to his Savior, for it had been the Divine that had heard their suffering, their desire to live in His Grace, and had granted their communal wish. Each spoke from his heart to the Divine Heart.

In time, the people gathered around their elders. Everyone had the same thing in mind: to live in God's Grace.

"The way to ensure the purity of God on earth," said Long Beard, "is to live openly with God. To acknowledge at all times the Almighty as the One who creates, maintains, and changes."

"And to know our place," said Bald Head, "which is to praise God, ask His blessing, and thank Him. And then go about living with no motive other than to perpetuate God's purity on earth."

"No greed, lying, secrecy..."

"We needn't list the things we don't want. It's enough to know that purity is paramount."

And so the people lived in the valleys, on the fields and hill country, the land of lakes and forests and seacoasts, wherever God let life flourish. Earth became a great, luxurious garden. All impurities dissolved. Hell was past. The future was forever.

After rededicating themselves to God, the survivors dissolved currency. Now the lovers of the land produced acres of wheat and corn and vegetables. The constructors spent their time erecting houses and buildings. And neither, like the entire race, did it for profit. They produced solely because they loved to.

The people gathered to praise God. Long Beard spoke.

"It is grand that we speak to God from the heart. Let us continue to do this. But let us add something. As a group, let's create the perfect prayer."

"What would it contain?" asked Bald One. "Obviously, praise of God, but if it's to be perfect, wouldn't there have to be a little bit more?"

"No and yes. No, because praising God is all that is needed. Yes,

because we could add some details."

"Like thanks," said Gold Hair."

"Yes, yes. We must always remember that He is All and thank Him for all He gives."

"But," added Long Beard, "there must be something in the middle. Begin by praising, end by thanking, but the middle must contain..."

"Our every desire," said Gold Hair. "By adding our desires, won't we please both God and His people?"

And so the people thought. They observed. They went through season after season noticing what their natural feelings of praise, thanks, and petitions were. The Elders met and they compiled the experiences, insights, and feelings of the people. It took a full year.

"It appears," said Long Beard, "that the first words to God must be introducing ourselves. If we don't remind the Almighty it is we who love Him, though He hears everything, will He truly listen?"

"Yes, yes," said Gold Hair. "The great creator/maintainer is aware of every squeak and squish in His domain, but if we say who we are, then our praise won't be just one more squawk. I suggest we begin with, "Dear God, Almighty and Supreme, the Survivors bow to You. Your infinite heart has created all. Your Divine love has granted us life. Blessed are You, master of all."

"Excellent! Yes, the perfect beginning. Now I suggest we physically bow to prove our words."

"But I think we should bow only then. If we bow throughout the prayer, we'll dilute its meaning. I think we'd be showing off

instead of showing humility."

"Well said. Honest humility before God, just as it should be."

The Elders took their ideas to the people. Tears fell from everyone for each was righteous. God had saved them because of that very quality.

"You've done well, Elders. Now I suggest you don't jump right into asking favors. If you do, the Almighty might think the only reason we praise Him is to get something. Are there other ways to praise Him?"

The Elders met again. They looked at the year's observations.

"Here it is. The first praise identified Him and us recognizing our respective places. The second part should be extolling God's majesty in giving life, in providing all that sustains us, and in restoring life when it gets off the path. For God has shown to be merciful and all are dependent on Him."

And so the Second Thought was formulated: "You are eternal, Dear God, You redirect the stray, You provide everything for Your creation, mercifully You support all, heal us, free us from our own limitations, and always show You will stand by the wayward. Great is Your faith in the righteous, Dear God, and blessed are You, the Almighty."

"Well done," said the people. "You have put into words what we know: That God deals in acts of mercy and loving kindness, of helping us when we need it, of reviving us and all creation just as He saved us from Hell. All birth, blossoming in Spring, it all shows how God gives life. Excellent, Elders, excellent!"

When the group reunited it knew there was one more feeling in the hearts of all that needed to be expressed, one that they

knew that they had to include in the great prayer. Long Beard put it into words.

"Holy, holy, holy are You, God. Holy are You, holy is Your Name, holy is Your every act. We praise Your holiness now and forever, blessed, Holy God."

Everyone knew the first part of the Perfect Prayer was complete. The third section made definite the recognition of the people that their great and almighty creator was sacred, to be held in awe, and He sat on High to be revered by all. The Elders concluded that praising God was really merely recognizing what He is.

Long Beard spoke to the Elders. "As God is our protector, we must include in our prayer what we want protected and what saved."

"Yes, yes," echoed Gold Hair. "What we hold dearest. We must speak to God and ask Him for what we want."

"We can do this in at least two ways: Ask all the people at once, or ask everyone to write down what he wishes."

"I think we should do both so no one feels he isn't heard. That is, have everyone write his dearest desires, then we put them in groups throwing out the duplicates, then take them back to the people. Let them pass judgment on them."

"And, perhaps more important, they can add anything they see missing. It would destroy the prayer if any individual felt he'd not been heard."

"But if we ask the people as a group first, couldn't the meeting turn into a free-for-all? One noisy demand to be heard? I think it's wise to have everyone write first."

"Yes, yes. Think first, write second, talk last."

And so the Elders gathered the people in the great field and presented their thinking. They handed out paper. They said if you can write all the things you feel are important now, do so. But if you need time, take it. In less than a week the ideas were gathered.

The procedure turned out to be inspired, because those who needed more time discussed their ideas with others which also made far less work for the Elders.

When the Elders received the ideas, they recognized that they'd been worded well because they'd been well thought out. It took them little time to formulate the central part of the prayer.

The Elders found that the prayers fit into major categories: Desires for the spiritual needs of the individual, for the physical/emotional/material needs, for the needs of the people as a group, and a prayer that summarized all the individual desires.

The first group contained prayers for God granting every individual to be himself, to follow his own course, for wisdom, the ability to see God in all things, for knowledge so he could understand and thereby gain wisdom, to be graced by God always, to be forgiven whenever he wandered from the direct path to God.

The second group addressed their physical, emotional, and material needs: Relief: To be relieved of all suffering and struggles. Healing: Complete healing for every illness. Economic Prosperity: Everyone should have a decent livelihood that is good for him and all of society.

The Third Group asked for God to fulfill the needs of the people and all society: Togetherness: Birds of a feather flock together, that the righteous come together from all parts of the world. Justice: That God govern and his earthly judges act with kindness and mercy, never corruption. Destruction of all enemies: So that peace will reign on earth and in everyone's heart. Righteous: That God support those who sincerely trust in Him. Build a Holy City: One town where the pure Light of God can emanate. Appearance of a Spiritual Deliverer, one who will bring all to God's permanent Grace.

When these had been compiled, the Elders showed them to the people. No one complained because they had created them. But one woman, a mother of seven, raised her voice.

"Kind Elders, please include this prayer: That God hears our prayer and answers with compassion and mercy."

All applauded spontaneously.

"It was good to let the people add prayers. Using this method was like putting icing on a cake."

The group returned to its job, that of concluding the Perfect Prayer.

Long Beard began the discussion. "We've praised God in the first three prayers and asked for specific things in the last fifteen. We can't end it there. We must now thank God."

"Yes," agreed Bald One. "It will complete the prayer. Giving thanks will be a way of saying that He has agreed upon and already delivered all the above."

As the Elders had praised God in the first three prayers, they decided to conclude with the same number.

The first thanked God for being Almighty and receiving the worship of the people. The second thanked the Almighty for supporting the people with loving kindness. The third and last prayer thanked God for establishing peace in human souls, bodies, and the land.

And so the Elders compiled the entire prayer, their great and one prayer, their Perfect Prayer. They took it to the people, then to smaller groups of the populace; to the school so the teachers could discuss its validity with students; to the judges so they could consider its completeness; to groups of mothers who sought love for their families; to all groups to see if the prayer was indeed perfect, that it covered everything.

The process took time, but everyone remembered the Hell they'd endured. They knew that the only way to ensure the purity that God had granted them was to live openly with Him, and perfecting the prayer was the single most important thing they could do to ensure this. No one begrudged the time and effort. Everyone wanted to make it perfect.

The process took another year. When they finished, everyone was satisfied that every aspect of life was covered. They felt that from praise to thanks the prayer was blessed.

The Elders proclaimed a public display of the prayer. A huge, metal sheet with the engraved letters clearly and boldly showing the prayer sat upright on the lawn of the House of Elders. Smaller copies were given to every individual. Every organization, institution, group, and household had a copy. And the Elders made a point to have everyone read a portion of the prayer to some group daily. They wanted no one to feel he'd

been left out of the process of creating it and they wanted everyone to be familiar with it. This is the text of the Perfect Prayer:

Dear God, Almighty and Supreme,

We bow to You.

Your infinite heart has created all;

Your Divine love has granted us life;

Blessed are You, master of all.

You are eternal, dear God.

You direct the stray,

You provide everything for Your creation,

Mercifully You support all,

Heal us, free us from our limitations,

And always show You will support the wayward.

Great is Your faith in the righteous.

Blessed are You, dear God, the Almighty.

Holy, holy, holy are You, dear God.

Holy, holy, holy is Your Name,

Holy is Your every act.

We praise Your holiness now and forever.

Dear God, please allow every individual

To be himself and follow his own course.

We pray for wisdom to see Your

Holiness in everything.

We ask for knowledge so that we can

Understand and gain wisdom.

We wish to be graced by

Your Holiness always.

Please forgive us with Your

Loving Kindness whenever we

Wander from the path of Your perfection.

We ask that You relieve all our

Suffering and struggles forever,

That through Your infinite compassion

You heal our every ailment.

Dear God, we pray that You grant

Everyone a decent livelihood so

All will feel dignified and productive.

Dear God, we ask that You gather

All those who love You in one place

So You can hear one devoted voice.

We pray that Your Purity always governs

The world so that corruption never rises.

Please destroy all enemies before

They are born so that all can live in peace.

Please support all who believe in and trust You.

We ask that You allow us to build a

Holy city where Your Pure Light will shine.

Please, dear God, send a

Spiritual Deliverer, one who will

Forever inspire Your people because

He carries Your Divinity.

We ask that You hear our prayer and

Answer it with Your infinite compassion and mercy.

Thank You, dear God, for receiving our worship and adoration.

Thank You for supporting us with Loving Kindness.

Thank You for establishing and maintaining peace in our souls,

Our bodies, and the land.

The people were so pleased that they memorized their prayer. They recited it three times a day.

The people and nation has flourished since long ago in that far away nation. Flourished because they loved God and praised Him and asked favors of Him and thanked Him.

All this from their profound devotion and one prayer. Their Perfect Prayer.