What Happens When We Pray?
The Archangels Explain
My definition and practice of prayer has changed a lot over the years, as had my understanding of God. When I was little, my mama used to sit on the side of the bed and with us while we prayed, “Now I lay me down to sleep …” As I got older, I continued to pray before I went to sleep every day, but it was more just having a conversation with God, thanking Him (God, the Father, to my understanding at the time) for all my blessings, asking Him to watch over those I loved, and apologizing for my sins.
I was in my twenties when I started praying the rosary, after meeting my first husband, who was Catholic. I really took up the rosary for his sake, more than mine, but it ended up becoming extremely meaningful and helpful for me, as I came to know the Holy Mother and depended on her comfort and guidance (although I wasn’t channeling at that time, so it was an internal guidance I felt, rather than a verbal exchange).
After I started channeling, I felt some confusion about how to pray. My understanding of God and praying has changed a lot over the last five or six years. I consider channeling a kind of praying. I mean, the Angels are messengers of God, so I feel like when I speak to them, I’m also speaking to God. I also meditate now, and what is meditation other than another form of prayer, just like walking out in nature can be, or spending time in the quiet contemplating life? I think whatever is meaningful to you and makes you feel closer to a higher being is a good thing.
I think back to some of the prayers I uttered, from childhood through adulthood, and I have to smile. I’ve prayed for things that now seem silly. I’ve prayed as if God was Santa Claus, asking for presents and gifts I wanted. I’ve prayed out of fear, and I’ve prayed for miracles.
When my mother had Alzheimer’s, and we didn’t live in the same city, every time I left after a visit, I prayed she’d remember me when I returned, and she always did. When my mother-in-law was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, I prayed she wouldn’t suffer, as so many do, and so far, three years and counting, she’s done pretty well, still kicking, laughing, and able to enjoy a somewhat slower but mostly pain free life. I prayed for my babies to be born healthy, and they were.
There have also been unanswered prayers, and I may never understand why they remained unanswered during this lifetime. I asked the Angels about prayers, including those that are not seemingly answered. I know now that we all have life plans in place, designed by our souls, that include things we often pray would go away or not happen at all. I still wonder sometimes what my soul was thinking, but that’s another thing I’ll probably not understand until this life is over and I go home. In any case, they shared some good information, which follows.
Question: Are all prayers answered in some way, or at least considered?
Answer:
All prayers register, that is, they are all heard, regardless of who prays or to whom they pray. They are never ignored or unheard, and they are all acted on in a variety of ways, however many are not answered in the way the one who prayed wanted them to be answered for a variety of reasons.
Whether or not you are aware of it, you, that is every person on Earth, is connected to the divine. All of you have high Guides, Angels, other souls, sometimes ancestors, assigned to you through your life plan. In addition to these, you are forever connected to the One who created you and to the universe. All of these beings are totally and always aware of you and what is happening I your life. All of them hear your prayers and thoughts. If you do not pray, they are still just as aware or you.
You are greatly loved by all of these being, and they are completely devoted to you and want to help and serve you, so when you pray or ask for help, they are very willing to answer the call. However, because of their great devotion to you and because they are committed to acting in whatever way that leads to your greatest good, they do not always do what you pray they will do, even if it is within their power, and oftentimes, it is not.
It is hard to accept this, we know, but it is not your god, Angels, or Guides who plan your life, it is a higher version of yourself, your soul, who plans it. While you are limited in knowledge, your soul is not, and this is why the soul plans the life. While the soul does not lack for knowledge, it does lack for experience, which is why souls incarnate time after time, to add experience to the knowledge they possess.
These experiences, gained throughout many lifetimes, provide not just growth gained through a lifetime, but it is gained for eternity and provides a path to eternal and total enlightenment. It is with this goal in mind that lifetimes are planned and guided, so it is the soul’s wishes that take precedence over the human being’s wishes, which lack the level of knowledge a soul possesses, which is why many prayers are not answered in the way they are asked.
Before resentment sets in, we would say two things. One, everything you experience on Earth, good and bad, is also experienced by your soul. The soul does not plan a life, then leave while you live it; it is with you, feeling and experiencing all that you do. Second, we wish to use another example of this to which you may more easily relate.
Consider a young child who wants to do something you know to be dangerous or unhealthy. A good and responsible parent will not allow it, whether it is eating candy for breakfast or running across a busy street unattended or jumping off the roof into a swimming pool. Or consider an elderly person who suffers from dementia and wants to give away all their money or wander the streets at night or drive when they are no longer able to do so safely.
The people who care for those who lack the knowledge or caability to make sound decisions guard their safety, whether they are in agreement or not. Such is the case of a soul planning a human life and those who help and guide the human throughout this lifetime. As a human being, you often lack the knowledge to understand why you must endure hardships. Nobody wants to suffer when they are human, but it is sometimes through suffering that great lessons are learned that will serve you and your soul throughout eternity. Although a human life seems long at times, it is but a blink of the eye when compared to eternity, so while there are some short-term human goals taken into consideration and assisted when possible, the majority of the goals your Guides focus on are long-term, eternal type goals.
So, when you pray for something your Guides, Angels, Gods, etc. know is not in your best interests, they will often not answer your prayers in the manner you wish them to answer. Instead, they will do whatever they can to ease your way past whatever you are experiencing that prompted the prayer.
They may offer strength, comfort, resilience, determination, or any number of emotional energies to see you through it. They may offer ideas, options, opportunities, or resources to smooth the way or to solve the dilemma, but usually, they cannot simply make the situation disappear. You must find a way to get past it, and getting past it may not mean it disappears. It may mean you conquer it, learn from it, solve it, or decide that it is not as detrimental to your life, peace, or happiness as you thought it would be. It may mean simply surviving it and becoming stronger because of it.
What we can promise and ensure you of when you pray is that your prayers are not only heard, but your team of Guides are acting in some way on your behalf. They will not desert you or leave you to deal with things on your own. Whether you are aware of them or not, they will stay with you and help in whatever way they can, assuming it is in your best interests.
Sometimes, when times are hard, all you can do is survive them. Hold on tight. Watch for that light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Persevere. Know and remember that at times such as these, even if it feels as though you are alone, you are not alone. There is an entire team of beings with you, doing whatever they can to see you through and no matter what happens, they will not leave you or let you go. If what you pray for does not materialize, or you do not know what to pray for, simply pray for strength and guidance to get through whatever it is you face.
No matter what you pray for, you are heard, and you have others who help you, sometimes resulting in the very answer you prayed for, and other times, with different results. Whatever happens and whatever help or answers you receive will be offered with unconditional love for you and with only the highest of intentions for your greatest good.
We send all energies of Love and Light.
Final Thoughts
There’s a country song by Garth Brooks, called Unanswered Prayers, that talks about running into an old flame while somewhere with his family, and it talks about how hard he prayed that she would be his, and they’d end up together. They talked briefly, and he felt gratitude that his prayer had not been answered. After they parted ways, he looked at his wife and knew things worked out in his favor, after all.
I bet we can all remember prayers we offered up and wanted so badly to be answered, exactly the way we ordered them. I’m thinking they were all answered, although many were not answered to order. I remember praying to get a job I interviewed for that I thought I’d be perfect for, and it came with a substantial raise and appeared to be easier and better in so many ways compared to what I was doing at that time. I didn’t get it. After the disappointment passed, I attended a training given by the person who got the job, and all I could think of was, thank God I didn’t get the position, because it would have been a nightmare for me. Thank God for unanswered prayers!
As adults, we believe we know what we want and what is best for us, right? I know that’s what I think most of the time, and I can be downright stubborn about it, but I’ve been proven wrong again and again, haven’t you? As human beings, we’re very limited in terms of information at times, and we obviously can’t see into the future, at least most of us can’t. There are so many outside factors we don’t know to consider. We make mistakes. We can be impulsive. We can be ruled by our emotions.
Our divine guidance team can’t make us do anything, as we all have free will. We get signs, signals, help, ideas, and so many other things that are divine in nature. How many times do we pray for something then put it out of minds and wait for it to drop in our laps? How many times have we missed the signs sent to us in answer to our prayers? We’d all do well to pay attention so we can hopefully spare ourselves from making too many mistakes or take advantage of opportunities that come our way. When we do make mistakes, however, it’s good to know that we’re never alone, and we have a whole team working to guide us past the errors we make and to strengthen and comfort us. All we have to do is let them in.
Blessings, all.