A Mother's Prayer

I would like to give two examples of how people work on themselves.

Example one.

A woman came to see me because of problems with her daughter. A month later, she was indignantly telling her friend: «I've been praying so hard this whole month, my daughter should have become a saint by now. And yet I still don’t see any results.»

Example two.

Four months ago, a young woman came to see me. Her child had been diagnosed with autism. I wanted to honestly tell her that this illness is incurable and I probably wouldn’t be able to help much. The only hope was for some improvement. Then I thought: why say that? It would only hinder both of us. When you're walking toward God, any obstacle can be overcome. Recently, she came to see me again.

«I will tell you everything that has happened to me,» she said. «Usually, after seeing you, people feel happiness and a sense of soaring in their soul. I left feeling 'green,' in a terrible state, and the inner turmoil lasted for quite a while. I tried to pray, but there was no response in my soul. For a month, I simply prayed mindlessly and monotonously, as you told me to.»

The most important thing is to preserve love for God, no matter what happens. Never blame anyone. Learn to see God's will in everything. Learn not to destroy love when human things fall apart; learn to keep love when you lose what is most precious. Learn to live through love.

I prayed, but there were no changes.

And you know when they started? When I completely accepted that my child was autistic and prayed without any hope or expectation.

And the child began to change.

Two months later, I went to the doctor, and the diagnosis of autism was removed.

Another two months passed. The doctor examined the child and said he saw no signs of delayed development — the child was completely healthy.

So, I want to address the readers once again.

We pray not to gain more money, health, or happiness.

We pray to detach ourselves and stop depending on worldly happiness, meaning we pray to become truly happy.

S. N. Lazarev, «Diagnosis of Karma, Book 5»