The doctrine of the material efficacy of prayer reduces the Creator to a cosmic bellhop of a not very bright or reliable kind. -Herbert J. Muller, educator, historian, and author (1905–1980)   

In tough economic times, as many of us are facing these days, we often pray; more than we do when things are going well for us. When times are tough for us financially, we visit our place of worship more diligently and scrounge what we can for the collection plate. We pray harder and more often for our immediate economic salvation and for rescue from our troubles. In tough times we often surrender our good sense of devising clever ways to get ourselves out of our troubles; we put our faith in getting our prayers answered, instead, while continuing ourselves on the same beaten path as we did when times were good!

Our belief that God helps us by listening to our prayers and by showing us the way in troubled times in general, not just financial, is our primordial belief! Most believe in a supreme being that has power over us all. If this is a commonly held belief for so long then why not invoke, we reason, that power to help us through our troubles? In fact, in the ancient Greek culture when staging plays, they had a whole mechanism on the stage to suddenly lower a thing or a human figure that would quickly (and unexpectdely) solve an otherwise unsolvable problem presented earlier in the script; deus ex machina style, literally meaning god from a machie! 

Well, the real power to extricate ourselves in financially troubled times comes not from divine intervention that we so desperately seek, but it does from looking inwardly within our own powers! Most are not even aware that in our everyday pursuits we barely use about a tenth of our true capacity or potential. We do not, as a consequence, realize that the lion’s share of our true capability does not get utilized unless we challenge ourselves to mobilize it. Tapping into this vast reservoir of our own power takes courage, will, and determination. Instead, we resort to prayers and seek divine intervention for salvation from our mundane challenges! Then we wait patiently hoping for a miracle!

Well, this notion is misguided, if not wrong!

The reality that each one of us has far more powers and potential than we ourselves realize is captured by a famous quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writing, which reminds us that what lies behind and ahead of us are tiny compared to what lies within us. Yet most people, when financial trouble strikes them, such as a job loss or lost fortunes due to financial downturns, immediately put out their hand for help, or close both in prayers to seek their own salvation. In so doing they diminish themselves, not because they prayed, but because they surrendered their own unknown powers to a possibility that may never materialize, as the quote at the top of this article suggests. This is not to say that prayers are a waste; rather, praying for our own selfish reasons diminishes us all!

So what is one to do in troubled times? Well, here are a few suggestions:

1.      Reflect on what the troubles are and find the root cause of the trouble. Often we confuse our symptoms with the troubles themselves and are endlessly trying to create a symptomatic cure. In so doing, we dig ourselves deeper. Finding a root cause of your troubles takes reflective thinking, introspection, and open mind, without finding someone to blame externally.

2.      Ask yourself: What would I do differently if someone guaranteed that I would not fail. Then ask yourself why do you think that if you pursue that challenge that you would fail. By carefully analyzing each cause of potential failure you are mentally dealing with how to not make it fail. Pretty soon the undertaking may not look so daunting.

3.      If you follow any venture with true passion, not worrying about how much (or how) you are going to make money on it, you’d be surprised to discover that if you do something with your soul behind it that money will just come!

4.      When you are on your Path, the entire power of the universe will be behind you in ways that will surprise you. If you did not believe in synchronicity, this experience alone will make you a believer! Put your faith in the universe to help you, but you do the heavy lifting!

5.      Seek help from those who can guide you through your planning. People are much more ready to help when they know that you are hurting, are not asking for a handout, but are asking for a hand. Generous people derive vicarious pleasure helping someone in trouble, without having to give a handout.

6.      If you have your loved ones around you, share your adventure and plan and ask for what part they can play to make the plan successful. You’d be surprised by the sacrifices your loved one will be willing to make if you go forward with your idea with conviction and share it with them.

7.      When you embark on your new path, give all your focus and energy to make your idea work. Do not hesitate for a minute if you believe in its merit.

8.      Celebrate small successes and share them with those around you. Give them credit for their support and efforts. Read inspirational stories of others who have endured tremendous odds and have succeeded in their ventures.

9.      Ask someone to be your sounding board to get ideas and to do course correction. Often, when you pursue your agenda it is easy to lose sight of common sense and get into trouble. If you realize that you have taken a path that will not take you where you wanted, regroup and make adjustments to your plan.

10.  And, finally, pray for success!

Tough times can be used as a test of our capabilities and as an opportunity for our personal growth. Merely praying without a solid action plan can often lead to questioning your faith and disappointments. Good luck!