The Washington herald., 1914-06-07

brain the image of its creator and of
his special need, this impression giving
rise to the thought of sending the man
help. Prayer is the motor power. the
artificial elemental is the agent concerned
in bringing about the desired result,
and a cheque, unasked for of man on
the physical plane. comes as the answer
to prayer.
The result could have been obtained
as readily by a deliberate effort of the
will. without any prayer. by a person
who understood the mechanism con-
cerned and the way to put 1t into mo-
ton. But in the case Of most people.
ignorant of the forces Of the invisible
world and unaccustomed to exercise their
wills, the concentration of the mind and
the earnest desire necessary for success
are far more easily reached by prayer
than by a deliberate mental effort to
put forth their own strength They
would doubt their own power. even II
they understood the theory. and doubt
is fatal in all exercise Of the will. That
the person who prays does not under
stand the machinery he sets going in
no wise affects the result; child who
stretches out his hand and grasps an OBJ
ject need not understand anything Of the
working of the extensor muscles. nor of
the chemical and electrical changes set
up by his movement in muscles and
nerves.
ChfId's Strong Will.
He wills to take hold Of the thing he
wants, and the various parts Of his body
obey his will although he does not even
know Of their existence So also is 1t with
the man who prays. unknowing Of the
creative force Of his thought or Of the
proceedings of the creature he has sent
forth to do his bidding; he acts as un-
consciously as the child, and. like the
child. grasps what he. wants.
A prayer Of Class A may also be an
swered in other ways than by the action
Of an artificial elemental. A passing
disciple or other helper at work on the
astral plane, may hear the prayer and
bring about the desired result. Especi-
ally is this likely to be the case when
the uterer Of the prayer is a philan-
thropist in need Of aid for the carrying
on of some benefcient work. The helper
will throw the thought Of sending him
the assistance he needs into the fertile
soil % a charitable brain and the result
will follow as before.
The failure Of earnest and strongly
willed prayers to bring about the object
aimed at seems to be due to the fact
that that they dash themselves against
some karmic cause too strong for them
to turn aside or to modify to any ap-
preciable extent. A man condemned BY
starvation may hurl his prayers against
that destiny in vain. The artificial ele-
mental he has created by such prayers
will find all its efforts futile; no helper
will come in his way to cause the de-
sired relief to be sent to him.
Prayer Won't Help.
When the relation that had existed in
the past between the souls Of parents
and of a dying child necessitate In the
present life The breaking of the tie at a
particular period, the current of force
set free by the prayer will not avail to
prolonK the thread Of the young life
Here, as everywhere, We are living In a
realm of law, and forces may be modi-
fed or entirely frustrated by the play
Of other forces with which they come in
contact. The exactly similar forces
might be applied to set in motion two
exactly similar balls; but in one case no
other force might be applied to the bali
and 1t might fly to the mark aimed at,
in the other a second force might strike
the ball and send 1t entirely out of its
course. And 30 with two similar prayers;