Source 8  Prayer

•  Pray for Strength Send Love

.».  Opening
     As an option to praying for someone to be healed, get a job, find love in their life (etc..) you can pray for strength for you and with that strength send love to those you are praying for.  You can also use the prayer to send love for other types of situations, for example animals in need.  This prayer helps them and you and highlights your willingness to allow life to flow through you… 

.».  The Prayer
       + May I receive strength.
       In your prayer pose you pray: May I receive strength.
       Then with intention send love to them.  Notice the two distinct parts to the prayer, both the praying for strength and sending of love (to them).  The prayer is your offering to be a conduit for energy to flow through you with the intention of helping others (without expectation).
       Try to smile when you send love.
       Love and smile, smile and love.
       Note:  Love and (you will) smile, smile and (you will) love.  They are interconnected.
       Praying with I pray for strength works too.  You can use strength or energy in either variation as the word as well, for this prayer they are aligned.

.».  Additional Details
       While in prayer posture repeat the prayer I pray for strength.  Then after praying send love to others, you can do this by being in a meditative state and imagining sending love to them.  This second part of the prayer you are meant to feel, to feel yourself sending love to them.  You can repeat each of the steps as many times as you feel to.
       While praying for strength you may feel the others coming in, that’s ok you can send love to them during the prayer.  In this instance you are possibly acting directly as a conduit between the incoming strength and them.  You can still send love to them after if you’d like as well.
       The prayer may look different for each of us.  The focus of the prayer is on the intention of receiving strength and sharing that strength in the form of love with others.  Careful with sadness at this time and know they don’t only have to be others in need.  It’s wonderful to pray for strength and send love to those who are doing well too.
       Your consciously sending love to others is a practice with many positives. You may find an unintentional benefit (for you) to the prayer.  Don’t go looking for it rather be surprised (and delighted) when it’s there.  Some things in life we don’t seek out, we notice, we feel.  This is essentially to receive (S4. To Receive).

.».  Expressions 
Healing:
» The deeper you get into sending love the more you may also notice you are healing yourself.  You don’t set out with this intention while you also don’t need to avoid it (feel any guilt).  The deeper you connect in to love and sending love the more you heal them-you-all.  In a sense it’s something you can’t avoid.  
       As you get better at sending love you will also heal yourself.  
       You can’t avoid it.
       You don’t want or need to avoid it.  
       This Practice is about healing them-you-all.
» At times you may feel compelled to give a bit of your own energy, this is a special gift we each have.  
       I like the expression God speed.  Wishing God speed to them essentially on their journey of life…. in this moment there is likely a smile on your face associated with the act.

Challenges:
» The prayer is to pray without judgement.
       You are not praying they change or with any expectation (of them). 
       Note:  When someone is sick of course you want them to get better.  Send love and you allow them to work out where their life goes…  Sending love is about knowing it’s their choice the direction and path of their life and offering support to their will (S11. Your Will).
       Note:  Their choice how they are through their life, including the situation.  We can’t always explain “why” somethings occur, we can support them through the life.  It’s their choice how they are, the prayer intention is to support choice.
» Notice too how this can be an exercise in presence.  
       While sending love where are your thoughts?  Are you able to focus on sending love or are you distracted by other unrelated situations or even the sadness of the situation you are praying around?  Secondly the act of sending love does it come naturally to you?  What does it feel like to send love or do you even know how to?  Like so much of the Practice each act contains many different elements to assist in your evolving, much like every moment of your life.  
» Send love not sadness.
       The situation may be sad yet send love (from the strength you receive).  You may feel sadness for the one you are praying for yet the intention is strength.  It can be difficult to smile during a sad moment, allow the strength to fill you (up).  Focus on where this Being is going with their strength.  You may find it helpful to look over S6. Salvation specifically: not being sad for them (as that is their path to salvation)…
» Be careful with the temptation to alter the prayer.  
       Say someone you know says specifically “this is what I want” so you pray they receive that.  So often what we really want is clarity and only then discover the direction our lives are to go.  By sending love you set them up for the “bigger picture” of their life.
       Note:  Of course you can still pray they get that new car or find love etc.., those are great ways to pray yet different prayers than this one.  In the realm of prayer it’s likely there is no one “right” way and rather more about the intention of the prayer.  Are you praying from the heart or head (S4. Come from the Heart).

.».  Examples
     Say someone you know want’s to go to the gym but they are tired.  You may be tempted to send them energy so they can “workout”, this is not the intention of the prayer.  Send them love, what they do with that love is up to them.  Even when they say “I want to go to the gym” allow them the space to change by sending love.  To me I feel it’s important to not use prayer to manipulate (which I don’t feel would work anyway).

.».  Summary
       When you send love to someone you set them up to be strong and maybe learn the lessons or experiences they are here to have with grace and ease (or easier).  Pray for strength, send love, heal (them-you-all).

(S8. Pray for Strength)  © 2022 Busacca