Law of Attraction and "LO and BEHOLD"
I have been curious about the LOA for many years and have read many books and articles about it. I've read lots of success stories from those who practice this and wondered about it for a long time.
One of the main things I wanted to know was, as a Christian, was this something I should be doing?
I've researched and read articles and opinions on both sides (its not for Christians and its fine for Christians to practice).
One of the first issues for me was the idea of talking to the "Universe" about my needs and wants. I talk to my God about my problems, needs and wants. I've found that many who practice the LOA do ask God (rather than the "Universe") when visualizing their needs and wants.
Another issue was the idea of asking God for riches and success as the world calls it. While I'm sure being rich appeals to everyone, including myself, is it really something a Christian should be wanting and asking God for?
I finally reconciled in myself that riches are not the issue, its putting wealth before serving God that is the issue. The issue is what I want to do with any riches God provides to me. My Bible tells me that my Father God desires to give His chilidren good gifts, just as a earthly father wants to give good things to his child. My Bible also says that the "love of money is the root of all evil" money is just stuff - its when I put money and stuff ahead of my love of God that it becomes evil (sin) in me.
Here are some verses I've been studying about riches and what to ask God when praying:
Jeremiah 19:11 - For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Psalm 35:27 - For God delights in the prosperity of His servants. “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.”
Matthew 6:33 - He said that if we first seek the Kingdom of God, everything else, including wealth, riches, abundance, will be added to us. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Hence, it is wrong to be of the mindset that it is against God’s will for you to prosper and to increase in riches.
Exodus 23:15 - “And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.”
1 Timothy 6:17-19 - Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 John 3:17 - If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Luke 16:13 - "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Deut. 15:6 - For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
Proverbs 23:4-5 - Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Matthew 6:19-21 - "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:16-21 - “And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself. What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. Then he said, This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Phil. 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Isaiah 33:15-16 - He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil-- this is the man who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. His bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him.
Romans 13:1, 6-7 - Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God... For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due them - taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
The Bible is full of stories about men God allowed to be rich and even enriched them as a gift from Himself because they pleased Him.
- Job
- Abraham
- David
- Soloman
- Joseph
- Joseph of Arimathea
- Jabez
- ObedEdom
I had thought for years that I could not visualize something I wanted and it would come to me - that I didn't know what I was doing or how to do this correctly. I have always tried ot practice positive thinking and stay away from negative thoughs and words (some days I do better than others at this). So at least I hoped to attract positive results.
A month or so ago I purchased a training course on the LOA and began to work through it. I worked through it as though praying to my father God when asking and visualizing my needs and desires.
One activity in the class was to write down all the things I was thankfor for. So I sat down at my computer and starting listing those things I was thankful for. It turned out to be a long list. When I had finished I sat back and reread my list - thanking God for those blessings.
As I did that, I noticed how many of the things on my list had once been things I wanted and then they were later supplied to me. It was astonishing to me. I thought to myself "I HAVE attracted good things to me - it has worked in my life and I didn't even realize it". Maybe I haven't failed at this afterall.
My ConclusionI have concluded that asking God for your needs and even your desires is not wrong. As long as you respect God's answer - whether it be yes or no. And my main desire should be to please God in all that I think, do and pray for.
I continue to go through that course in my fashion, listening to the positive affirmations in a prayerful manner and see the God of the Universe as the one I petition. I try to think only positive thoughts and verify that the things I "want", I want for the right reason - to help others and honor God.
I appreciate your thoughts
-Shirley
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I was a Christian wife for over a decade, and my daughters came to me after age 18 and told me they were no longer Christian. I thought this is a phase, you will outgrow it. But then I started on my journey of research and truth... all of the religions are based on geography. Wherever you grew up is what you tend to believe. All the religions are based on man's writings. So therefore, I concluded, all religions are written by man, all religions were a lie.
I grew up with a mother who believed there was a God, there was a good source, but that there wasn't a bad source, there was no devil. I used to think that was crazy, of course there was a devil. But then with LOA I started to believe my intuition was my connection to God or to the Source, and there was no evil or the devil - that was man's role. Men were the evil doers of the world, the monsters that killed people and started wars = this was not a God who loved us. God did not bring upon us war and hatred and evil! That was man.
Some of the questions I had, Jesus hasn't come back for the second coming so we are not in heaven... where are we? And in Genesis we are asleep in the grave until Jesus comes back... so there is no heaven, no one is watching us from above... we are asleep in the grave. Thank God my dad is not watching me have sex from heaven! (I have 3 kids), I always worried about this!
I also didn't understand if it is "God's plan" then what is free will? How can we have free will if it is God's plan? Too many things did not make sense...
I watched the Secret. I understood LOA. I realized everything I brought into my life was what I believed deep in my subconscious.
I believed I was a single parent struggling paycheck to paycheck. BAM! I did this for 7 years after my divorce. Getting by. Whenever I didn't have enough money to pay the electric bill, suddenly something came up and I had enough money. We were never without.God will provide. Or rather our thoughts were that we were provided for... our thoughts, our intuition, our connection to the Source.
We can not give more to help others if we do not have enough for ourselves - it is not selfish to want to be rich and provide for our family, so then in turn we can help out others. I believed I had an abundance... we always had enough food, we always had enough clothing, we had an abundance... I just didn't have an abundance of money! However, we were always provided for. "He" will provide. So if I can live anywhere I want, where do I want to live?
I decided the beach. It was an amazing few months, using the power of my thoughts to generate a new job, a new career, trusting in Jesus to bring me this far not to let me down when nothing else was going right. But it all fell through... I had no new job, already trained my replacement, I was in limbo. But I trusted in the Universe not to let me down. I moved to the beach. The LOA worked beautifully!
We are all one, we are all connected. All our thoughts come together and form this world, this universe. We have the power to create anything we desire. "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." -- Albert Einstein
It is our thoughts! If you can believe our bodies are so miraculous to create another human being, why not our thoughts? Our thoughts, or imagination is so very powerful. Our thoughts and our visualizations are just as powerful and magical as our bodies. Our intuition is our connection to the Source.
Read the 5 Universal Truths of Existence by Michael Brown. He explains it so well in 5 short essays. http://findingthefield.com, look up The Universal Truths. He provides a beautiful synopsis of our universe and how it works. Start with The core principle of existence, and follow up with the 5 universal truths of existence... You are the creator of your reality; Your life is a mirror; Everything is connected; Now is the only moment that matters; and You will live forever.
Take it a step further, the book that changed my life (available as an ebook from Amazon, $4), The Three Magic Words by Uell S. Andersen. It has changed my life, and given me the knowledge to know that all religion is made up by man. Therefore, I have no fear!! I am free!!
Isn’t the essence of the LOA about being happy in the present moment? When you master this, every thing falls Into place.
A detailed post which tries to to understand everything in the mind but from what I read from the LOA, it’s more about being at peace within.
I have no depth knowledge about the bible or LOA but I like to think that they are in the similar direction?
It is my goal to simplify things and try to accept the moments day by day.
Knowing and wanting this, I still failed miserably, in my view, from a string of awful events in the last few months - I crumbled in many ways!
I just kept telling myself, this to shall pass!
Understanding all the words with the mind, will probably detract from the peace we seek?
It would be nice to see how the course goes Shirley.
Wayne
True, I do have an inner contentment with my future and with my God. Even though I have short periods where my chronic pain can break down my inner peace, it never lasts for long. All in all, I tend to be a pretty peaceful and satisfied person. My goal is to be happy and optimistic in all aspects of my life. I've been like this most of my life - I love seeing the glass as half full in my mind and I feel that optimism is the best kind of mindset to have.
I know for certain if someone is always critical and seeing a half empty glass, then it seems to me that more and more stress and difficulties are drawn to that person (I live with someone like that and it amazes me how many things can go wrong and irritate him).
Hi Shirley, Great detailed post with lots of scriptures. I love it.
Here is a couple that put the law of attraction into biblical terms.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
So the Law of attraction says that you must ask or hope for the things you want. But you must believe in them even before they are here. Sounds the same to me.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
John 14:13 - 14 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Sounds like all we have to do is ask. I think streets of gold and pearl gates qualify as being quite rich.
Oh and it does work!
Thanks again for the great post!
- Glen B
Shirley, I have read dozens of LOA books and the one I'm on now is the best. Neville Goddard the Complete Reader. He ties the Bible to LOA and gives the best explanation and instructions of any other author that I have read. It will give you a new outlook on life. This book and many others by Goddard are available on Amazon some as ebooks.
Dave
“An awakened imagination works with a purpose. It creates and conserves the desirable, and transforms or destroys the undesirable.”
― Neville Goddard
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My favorite scripture is Psalms 83:18 in the King James version
Also Genisis 1:1
Good post