107 Everyone who has ever tried to use prayer to request something has experienced what appears to be failure. This is not only true in connection with specific things which might be harmful but also in connection with requests which are strictly in line with this course. The latter, in particular, might be incorrectly interpreted as "proof" that the course does not mean what it says. You must remember, however, that the course does state, and repeatedly, that its purpose is the
escape from fear.
108 Let us suppose, then, that what you request of the Holy Spirit
is what you really want, but you are still
afraid of it. Should this be the case, your
attainment of it would no longer
be what you want, even if
it is. This accounts for why certain
specific forms of healing are not achieved, even though the state of healing
is. It frequently happens that an individual asks for physical healing because he is fearful of
bodily harm. At the same time, however, if he
were healed physically, the threat to his thought system would be considerably
more fearful to him than its physical expression. In this case he is not really asking for
release from fear but for the removal of a symptom which
he has selected. This request is, therefore,
not for healing at all.
109 The Bible emphasizes that
all prayers are answered, and this must be true if no effort is wasted. The very fact that one has asked the Holy Spirit for
anything will ensure a response. Yet it is equally certain that
no response given by the Holy Spirit will
ever be one which would increase fear. It is possible that His answer will not be heard at all. It is
impossible, however, that it will be lost. There are many answers which you have already received but have not yet
heard. I assure you that they are waiting for you. It is indeed true that no effort is wasted.
110 If you would know your prayers are answered, never doubt a Son of God. Do not question him and do not confound him, for your faith in him is your faith in
yourself. If you would know God and His Answer, believe in me whose faith in you cannot be shaken. Can you ask of the Holy Spirit truly and doubt your brother? Believe his words are true because of the truth which is in him. You will unite with the truth
in him, and his words will
be true. As you hear
him, you will hear
me.
Listening to truth is the only way you can hear it now and finally
know it.
111 The message your brother gives you is
up to you. What does he say to you? What would you
have him say? Your decision
about him determines the message you receive. Remember that the Holy Spirit is in him, and His Voice speaks to you
through him. What can so holy a brother tell you
except truth? But are you
listening to it? Your brother may not know who he is, but there is a light in his mind which
does know. This light can shine into yours, making
his words true and making
you able to hear them. His words
are the Holy Spirit's answer to you. Is your faith in him strong enough to let you hear?
112 Salvation is of your brother. The Holy Spirit extends from your mind to his and answers
you. You cannot hear the Voice for God in yourself alone because you are
not alone. And His answer is only for what you
are. You will not know the trust I have in you unless you
extend it. You will not trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit or believe that it is for you unless you hear it in others. It
must be for your brother
because it is for you. Would God have created a Voice for you alone? Could you hear His answer
except as He answers
all of God's Sons? Hear of your brother what you would have me hear of you, for you would not want
me to be deceived.
113 I love you for the truth in you, as God does. Your deceptions may deceive
you, but they
cannot deceive
me. Knowing what you are, I
cannot doubt you. I hear only the Holy Spirit in you, who speaks to me through
you. If you would hear
me, hear my brothers in whom God's Voice speaks. The answer to
all prayers lies in them. You will be answered as you hear the answer in
everyone. Do not listen to anything else, or you will not hear truth.
114 Believe in your brothers
because I believe in you, and you will learn that my belief in you is justified. Believe in me
by believing in them for the sake of what God gave them. They
will answer you if you learn to ask truth of them. Do not ask for blessings without blessing them, for only in this way can you learn how blessed
you are. By following this way, you
are looking for the truth in you. This is not going
beyond yourself but
toward yourself. Hear only God's Answer in His Sons, and you
are answered.
115 To disbelieve is to side against or to
attack. To believe is to accept and to
side with. To believe is not to be credulous but to accept and
appreciate. What you do not believe, you do not appreciate, and you
cannot be grateful for what you do not value. There
is a price you will pay for judgment because judgment
is the setting of a price. And as you set it, you
will pay it.
116 If paying is equated with
getting, you will set the price low but demand a high
return. You will have forgotten [that to price is to
value, so] that your return is in
proportion to your judgment of worth. If paying is associated with
giving, it cannot
be perceived as loss, and the
reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving will be recognized. The price will then be set high because of the value of the return. The price for
getting is to lose sight of value, making it inevitable that you will
not value what you receive. Valuing it little, you will not appreciate it and will not
want it.
117 Never forget, then, that
you have set the value on what you receive and have priced it by what you give. To believe that it is possible to get much for little is to believe that you can bargain with God. God's laws are
always fair and perfectly consistent.
By giving you receive. But to receive is to
accept, not to get. It is impossible not to
have, but it
is possible not to
know you have. The recognition of having is the willingness for
giving, and
only by this willingness can you recognize what you have. What you give is therefore the value you put on what you have, being the exact measure of the value you put upon it. And this, in turn, is the measure of how much you
want it.
118 You can
ask of the Holy Spirit, then, only by giving
to Him, and you can
give to Him only where you
see Him. If you see Him in everyone, consider how much you will be
asking of Him and
how much you will receive. He will deny you nothing because you have denied
Him nothing, and so you can share everything. This is the way, and the
only way, to have His answer because His answer is all you
can ask for and
want. Say, then, to everyone,
119
Because I will to know myself, I see you as God's Son and my brother.
