THE ULTIMATE PRAYER !

The word ‘THANK YOU’ is not a feeling of the heart, but a call from the heart. This is a superior prayer and there is no need of any words to this prayer.

Prayer cannot be done but it happens. "The highest prayer is that of expressing gratitude for whatever one has attained."

Once a magician was nearing his death. Before dying, he gave a bag full of silver coins to his son and said, ‘When all these silver coins are spent, say this prayer which I shall teach you now. The bag will once again begin to fill with silver coins.’ He taught him a prayer of four words and he died before long.

Upon getting the bag of silver coins, the son was happy and began spending them around. The bag was so big that it took him a few years to use up the coins.

In this duration of time, he forgot the prayer. When the bag was almost empty, he remembered that his father had taught him a prayer of four words. But what was the prayer? He tried to recall it but could not.

Now he began to ask people around him. He first asked his neighbor, ‘Do you know a prayer which is made of four words? If you tell me, I will make you rich. The neighbor replied, ‘Yes I do know a prayer of four words: Dear God! Help me.’ On hearing it, he felt that these were not the words. He would have found it familiar if he had heard it before. Nevertheless, he tried this prayer. He kept repeating ‘Dear God, Help me…..Dear God, Help me….’ But the silver coin did not increase. He was disappointed.

Then he asked a priest of church. The priest said that the prayer could be, God! You are great.’ But this did not sound familiar too. Nevertheless, he tried it and repeated, ‘God, You are great…..God, You are great…’ But the bag did not fill.

He then went to a politician who said, ‘Vote for the Lord.’ No, these were not the words. However, he tried it out, but in vain. He met many people but could not recall the prayer his father had told him.

He was sitting at home feeling hopeless and dejected. A beggar came by and asked for alms saying, ‘I haven’t eaten for anything since morning, please give me something to eat.’ He had some food left over which he gave to the beggar. The beggar ate the food. After returning the vessel, the beggar said to God, ‘Dear God, thank you!’

The magician’s son was startled on hearing these words and exclaimed, ‘These were the four words!’ He then began to repeat this prayer, ‘Dear God, thank you! Dear God, thank you!’ And lo! The silver coins began to increase and the whole bag filled up.

Here it is to be noted that it was only when he helped someone that he was able to get the mantra back.

‘Thank You Lord!’ is the highest prayer, because, that for which we express our gratitude, increase in our life.

From the story above, we can understand that ‘Dear God, thank you!’ are not just four words, but are the power of prayer.

Jesus too had demonstrated the power of thanks giving  by feeding a multitude with five loaves and two fish supplied by a small boy. He took them, gave thanks to God and broke the loaves and then gave them to the disciples to serve the crowd who had gathered there to listen to His sermon. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Prayer is just not about ‘asking’. The highest prayer is that of expressing gratitude for whatever we have attained. But alas! Many of us are not aware of the truth .We are often been blind folded by the devil to get a deeper understanding of it. It’s my earnest prayer that God opens our spiritual eyes and enables us to listen to such higher knowledge and wisdom.

We read in Luke 17:17 that Jesus healed ten men who had been suffering from dreadful skin disease. But only one, who saw that he was healed, came back and thanked Him. Jesus said, ‘there were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine?

He is pointing the same question on us even today?

Dear friends, we are called to express our gratitude and be thankful to Him for all the blessings of goodness, however small or big, we receive in our day-to-day life.

How grateful are we to Him who bestows generously His countless blessings upon us each day?

That for which we express our gratitude, increase in our life !