Maria #410CM/FM 315510/97

1. Since this GN has been about uniting and fighting in prayer for our young folks‚ I thought you would find this next message very helpful and would be excited by its possibilities. It talks about how you can turn your thoughts into prayers which have potent creative power—Heavenly thought power!

2. The Bible talks a lot about our thoughts, and it makes an interesting study. The Word says we can hardly count the Lord's thoughts toward us, and we're to hate vain thoughts but love His law, which is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart! (Psa.40:5; 119:113; Heb.4:12).

3. Dad also talked about the power of thoughts throughout his Letters. "Forbidden Planet" talks about watching your thoughts and the intents of your heart. "The Operator" talks about praying for others when you think about them. Here's more on how you can put your thoughts to good use in prayer!

4. (Jesus speaking: ) Turn every thought into a prayer. If you want to know how to pray more and how to get more things done, transform every thought into a prayer. Think of all the things you do throughout the day‚ all the things you think about, all the thoughts that run through your head! So many thoughts—sometimes running wild! Now ask yourself, where are your thoughts running?

5. Watch your thoughts. Consider all your thoughts. Size them up, take stock, analyze, weigh them up, and ask yourself, what are your thoughts accomplishing? Where are they going? Are they headed in the right direction or in the wrong direction? Are they finely tuned to My intricate circuitry? Or are they lost in space, trapped in the gulf of nonsense? Or hot-wired to the switchboard of static and confusion?

6. How do your thoughts fare? Are they accomplishing good? Or are they sitting idle, destined to end up in the wasteland of nothingness? Are you transforming your thoughts into power that will bring about changed lives and improved conditions for loved ones in their hour of need? Or are they engrossed in trifles, sitting fruitless and lifeless in a dead-end pool of self-interest?

7. If you want to do more in prayer, consider your thoughts. Thoughts are real things. They can bless or they can curse; they can help or they can hinder; they can provide comfort and peace, or they can emit emptiness; they can give protection and security, or they can lead the way to accident and misfortune—all according to how you turn them.

8. By turning your thoughts into prayer, you turn them into creative power. By allowing them to sit idle, you turn them into an empty, hollow shell‚ with no purpose‚ no worth, no profit. If you turn your thoughts into prayers, they will accomplish that which is good. If you turn them toward vanity, they will come to no avail.

9. Burden or blessing—to which do your thoughts attain? Are they helping to sustain a soul in need? Or are they silently turning a blind eye to the one who cries for help? Where are your thoughts running? Are they reaching out to answer a call? Or are they lingering, tinkering around in frivolous play, hanging out in empty hallways?

10. If you want to know how to accomplish more, how to meet the need in prayer‚ and how it is possible to continue on when the need is so great, how to answer the call of so many in need, I say to you, watch your thoughts. Take a look at your thoughts. Evaluate your thoughts. Organize your thoughts. Ask yourself, "What are my thoughts accomplishing?" Are you tapping into Heavenly thought power? Are you directing your thoughts to where they can do some good and really make a positive difference?

11. Thoughts are real things! Thoughts are powerful, for thoughts can be turned into prayers‚ and prayer is powerful! If you want to know how to pray more, consider your thought power! Take stock, My loves. Take care and watch your thoughts. Tap into Heaven's thought power!

12. I have equipped each of you with this great gift, therefore learn to use it. Learn to wield it. Learn to convert your thoughts into powerful prayer. Thought power turned into prayer will materialize into My blessings, My intervention, My protection‚ power and strength, My healing balm poured out on those for whom you care.

13. Thoughts turned into prayers will accomplish great feats, make the impossible possible, and change the course of history! On the other hand, thought power left running idle has little worth and will only float off to oblivion and fade away to rust and ruin. Thought power aimed in the wrong direction—that which runs wild on dangerous highways of negativity, doubt and besetting sin—will end in destruction.

14. Watch your thought power and take care, lest thoughts left unattended catch you unaware. For thoughts left idle can slip away into the gray mass of nowhere land, into the cracks and crevices of complacency, where they will rot and ruin and go to waste.

15. If you want to do more in prayer, consider your thoughts. Are your thoughts burdens or blessings‚ useful or wasteful? Will they get hung up in a mass of clutter, or be turned into powerful prayers? Oh, the great things that fail to be achieved for failure to direct all your thoughts on a clear course of prayer! Idle thoughts shooting into thin air only add to the clutter of the atmosphere, causing confusion and disorder.

16. And I tell you this, My children‚ that if you will learn how to direct your thoughts in the way of powerful prayer, in this lies the secret to great strength, great victory, and great accomplishment.

17. You ask how you can pray more, when you can pray more? Every time you think a thought‚ just turn it into a mighty prayer—all the time, anywhere, with anybody, even when you're all alone. When you're doing physical chores or routine duties, turn your thoughts into prayers throughout the day. Don't let them pass you by, and you will accomplish so much more. Capture your thoughts, beam them up, right on target, and see miracles come to pass before your very eyes!

18. Thoughts are always running through your head, but it's how you direct them that makes a difference. Catch each thought, bring it before Me on the spot, and I will lead you in how to direct it. Take care not to let those thoughts sit idle, lest they turn to daydreaming and vain illusion.

19. All day long, no matter what else you're doing, you're thinking thoughts, but it's how you direct them and filter them that can make a difference. What you decide to do with those thoughts and where you direct them is what counts. I tell you this to make your job easier. For as you learn to direct your thoughts in prayer, filtering them through the sieve of My Word, balancing them and directing them to Me, sending them on to where they can genuinely accomplish something‚ you will be able to fulfill this mission of prayer.

20. In the solitude of your thoughts you can turn them to prayers and change the course of history! Even in the busyness of your schedule‚ what you do with your thoughts can make a difference. Even in the course of your busy day, you can take the thoughts that come to you as a result of the input you see and receive all around you, and you can turn those thoughts into prayers. Therefore you should not just reserve this habit for your quiet times or prayer times, but you should try to get in the habit of capturing your thoughts and turning them into prayers at every opportunity. You should learn to discipline your mind and not let your thoughts wander, even during times when you're relaxing.

21. You can take the thoughts that come to you as a result of watching the news, watching a movie, listening to music, talking with others, or having get-out, and you can direct those thoughts to Me, turn them to Me in prayer. You should be vigilantly trying to capture your thoughts and make them work for you and others for good through prayer. All throughout the day as you are taking in the sights and sounds of all that goes on around you‚ in the midst of all this you can make choices as to how you want to direct and filter the thoughts that pop into your head.

22. If you let the sights and sounds around you trigger your thought patterns for the positive, turning them into prayers to Me, you'll be able to intercede for those in need. But if you let the sights and sounds around you grab your thoughts and lock them into thoughts of vanity, these have little worth, and you will have missed the opportunity to tap into Heavenly thought power turned to prayer.

23. Vain thoughts are thoughts of self. Vain thoughts are thoughts that are not filtered through Me. They're thoughts without a purpose, thoughts that are not directed. They have no goal. They're not based on true, lasting values. They're thoughts of nonsense. They're not brought before Me and measured with the yardstick of My Word. Vain thoughts puff up; they have no purpose‚ no rhyme, no reason, no destination to help another or to meet a need.

24. You can choose throughout the day, in the midst of all the sights and sounds around you‚ how you want these outside variables to influence your thoughts. You can catch the sights and sounds around you and allow them to run wild in your head, or you can catch the sights and sounds and bring them to Me. Shoot up an instant prayer. Seek Me, ask Me, get My mind on the matter. This is how you can guard your thoughts and bring them into captivity to My Spirit‚ and then turn them into prayers, turn them into good‚ turn them into something that will last‚ that will live on and accomplish a great work.

25. Keep your thoughts clean and pure by bringing them to Me, by transforming them into prayers. In this way you can accomplish much more than if you let your thoughts slip away.

26. The sights and sounds around you motivate the thoughts in your head, and you can choose what to do with those thoughts according to how you turn them. Learn the art of filtering your thoughts through Me, turning your every thought toward Me by turning it into a prayer, and this will facilitate your ministry of prayer and enhance your prayer power.

27. This method, this technique, this practice of turning every thought into a prayer will make your burdens lighter! For thoughts are always entering your head; they're constant. Therefore this art of turning every thought into a prayer will greatly enhance your prayer life and your prayer power. For as you pour out in this way, turning every thought into a prayer, I will pour into you great blessing and fill you with great satisfaction and great fulfillment.

28. Thoughts are real things—they can be a burden or a blessing. Your thoughts can control you or you can control them. You can employ them and turn them to your good and to the good of others by turning them into prayers. But if you allow your thoughts to run wild, they will employ you. They'll make you flounder and slip, render you useless, hinder your power, and eventually bring about your downfall. Will you turn your thoughts into power prayers‚ or allow them to be tied up in shallow froth? Will you send your thoughts to great heights, or allow them to loiter in emptiness?

29. There's great power in a thought, and I give to you, My children who know Me‚ a great key—that of turning every thought into a prayer, that of bringing every thought into the captivity of My Spirit. In this lies power, and I give this power to you so that in these Last Days you can accomplish great feats by directing your thoughts in prayer.

30. Be not as foolish children who do not appreciate the greatness of this power I make available to you, but instead choose to let their thoughts wander, or lie inactive, or waste away on empty vanities and that which will not last. But rather take hold, tap in to this great power that I put into your hands, and the great opportunity to turn every thought into a prayer.

31. I do this for your benefit. Don't think that to turn your thoughts into prayer is merely to keep them occupied, to fill up your time and corral your thoughts for lack of something better to do. For this fine art—practicing this Heavenly technique of turning every thought into prayer—is a great privilege, a great gift, a great power I make available to you—the privilege to tap into Heavenly thought power! Use it, and it will serve you well. It will make your life easier and bring about miracles on your behalf.

32. Thoughts are real things—they can be a burden or a blessing. Turn them into good by turning them into prayer. Which will you choose? (End of message from Jesus.)

33. (Jesus speaking:) Now don't get scared, My children, and don't worry and wonder how you're ever going to turn every single one of your thoughts into a prayer. Don't think that you have to become some kind of a saint. Remember that I know your frame and I understand that you're human. So that means that I also know your limitations‚ your weaknesses and faults and everything.

34. The most important thing to remember is that I look at your heart more than your mind or your actions. I look at the desire of your heart to please Me, and when the heart is right, then everything else is right. So if you have trouble along the way and you know you won't possibly be able to turn all your thoughts into prayers, does that mean you're a failure and might as well give up and quit trying and just go out in the garden and eat worms? No, it just means you're human like everybody else! And you know what? All the other people around you aren't going to be able to turn every single thought into a prayer either! So you might as well relax right now and not get condemned because you can't do it one hundred percent.

35. You might be wondering why I suggested you do it in the first place if I knew you couldn't! It's for the same reason that a father encourages his child to start walking and taking his first steps even though he knows he can't at first and he's going to fall over sometimes. Eventually he learns to walk well‚ and even though here and there along the way he might slip and fall down, it's still much better for him to walk. He can go places and get there faster by walking rather than crawling.

36. And although I know you're going to slip and fall sometimes in your prayer life and you won't always achieve the goal of turning every thought into a prayer, I knew if I gave you the challenge to try and reach the goal, even if only partway, it's worth it!—Because it's progress, and you'll be doing much better and accomplishing more by activating the power of Heaven than if you don't ever try. Some people will do better at it than others, some people will be more faithful than others, and I'll raise up many mighty prayer warriors from the ranks.

37. So try it! You'll like it! And it will certainly do you and others a lot of good. But don't worry or get under condemnation if all of a sudden you realize you haven't been praying. Don't criticize or condemn yourself or others, because I won't be criticizing or condemning you. I'm happy and thankful for each prayer that you do pray. So don't worry about all the prayers that you forget to pray or don't pray. Don't let the Enemy point out your lack and criticize you for what you haven't done, but look on the bright side and remind him of the prayers you did pray and the good that you have done!

38. Just stay positive and upbeat and happy about it, thankful for the idea and the challenge and the blessing to pray when you do remember, to turn your thoughts into prayers when you can.

39. Remember the anecdote about the man who told the Devil to stop criticizing his small potatoes. The Devil was hanging around being negative and murmuring to the farmer‚ trying to get the farmer to murmur against God for his small potato crop that year‚ and to forsake his plow and follow the Devil. But the farmer just told the Devil that he was thankful for his Father's small potatoes, because when the Devil was in control he didn't have any potatoes! (See GT 2, page 1609‚ #172.) So when the Enemy comes around to criticize and condemn you for not praying enough, just tell him you're thankful‚ and I'm thankful for your prayers, because if he were in control you wouldn't be praying any prayers! (End of message from Jesus.)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family