ACIM Chapter 9. II. The Answer to Prayer P 11, 12

ACIM Chapter 9. II. The Answer to Prayer P 11, 12

II. The Answer to Prayer, P 11

11 Never forget, then, that you set the value on what you receive, and price 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.

Well, he used a lot of words to get there, but basically, it seems that Jesus is telling me that I have everything, but I limit my awareness of that when I am unwilling to give. Giving is how I know I have. I limit my awareness of my complete abundance when I don’t accept this. He also points out that accepting and getting are not the same thing.

In my mind, I connect getting with taking, grasping, and getting more than I am willing to give. Accepting feels like my hands are open to receive what is put there, and they remain open to give as freely as I receive. I imagine things coming into my life as I need them, then going to someone else when they need them, only to be replaced with whatever I might need now.

I had a nifty pair of boots that I liked very much.

As it happens, I paid way too much for something I wore maybe once a year, but I wasn’t sorry. One day, a friend asked me if she could have them. At first, I was so surprised that she asked for them that it took me a moment to realize she thought that because I don’t wear them often, I don’t really want them, or that they were just going to waste and, evidently, she really liked them, too. So, I gave them to her.

I could hear the little voice in my head saying that I had just suffered a loss, but I wasn’t listening. It felt really good to give them away. It’s funny how the ego mind simply cannot grasp that giving is receiving and that there is no loss. After two years, every time I thought of the boots, I felt both gratified and sad, depending on which part of my mind I listened to. It makes me laugh. Now, I no longer even think of them and if I do, I am just glad I gave them to her.

Things are just symbols of thoughts in our minds, and the boots are meaningless in themselves. It is what they symbolize that is important. If I had listened to the ego, which wants to hold onto and keep, I would have told my friend that I still needed the boots. I would have taught myself that the world is a small and limited place and that I must guard against loss all the time. I would have taught myself that, and I would have taught my friend that.

There are two ways of thinking in my mind.

I have within my mind the fear that there is never enough and that I must hoard what I have or suffer loss. But I also have within my mind the certainty that I am an open channel for All That Is and that whatever I need passes through me, staying for as long as I need it, then moving away, returning if I need it again. I know I am fully abundant in every way.

Which of those two thoughts will feel true to me is up to me. One day, I wore an outfit that seemed to need those boots, and I reached for them. Then I remembered they were no longer in my closet. For an instant, I felt the loss of them, but that can’t be right. I cannot experience loss. Only the ego can. I easily let that feeling go and when I did, I felt happy thinking of my friend wearing them, and I reached for a different pair of shoes. They looked good with my outfit.

12 II. The Answer to Prayer, P 12

12 You can ask of the Holy Spirit, then, only by giving to Him, and you can give to Him only where you recognize Him. If you recognize 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:

Because I will to know myself, I see you as God’s Son and my brother.

This is exciting to think about! I see three things in this short paragraph that I want to think about. First, we now understand the nature of giving and receiving. If we give to get, we have lost. But if we realize that through giving, we receive, there is never loss and only joy in the exchange. So, we know how to give, and we know that to receive, we only have to accept with open hands.

The second thing I am thinking about.

The Holy Spirit is the Answer to every question, and since giving is receiving, I can ask of Him only by giving to Him. I give to Him my trust and my willingness to set aside what I think I know and to accept what He says. I give him my desire to acknowledge Him everywhere I see Him.

And the third thing.

As it says here, “If you recognize Him in everyone, consider how much you will be asking of Him, and how much you will receive.” This is the most exciting part! Everyone has the Holy Spirit and so I can recognize the Holy Spirit in each person and receive His Answer from each person! I am so rich!

Let this be a day of seeing my brother anew. I will ask to see the Divinity in each person I meet, and so hear the Word of God from each one. I could not do that on my own. My ego mind will hear only ego words and meanings. But I can, and I want to, learn to see and hear truly. I am willing to make this my practice today, all day. I am excited to make this practice today!

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