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Prayer. The Art of Believing

Prayer. The Art of Believing

by Neville Goddard
4.43
500+ ratings
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Key Takeaways

1. Life is a Mental Game with Universal Rules

"Life is a game and, like all games, it has its aims and its rules."

Mental Playing Field. Life operates like a game with fixed, unchangeable rules that govern how we can manifest our desires. Unlike physical games where rules can be modified, the rules of life's mental game remain constant and universal, requiring understanding and strategic application.

Core Game Principles:

  • Increasing awareness is the primary aim
  • Achieving personal desires is the secondary objective
  • Thinking follows specific internal conversation tracks
  • Every inner word has consequences in the outer world

Self-Mastery Strategy. Success comes from becoming conscious of our mental activities, particularly our inner conversations. By understanding and deliberately managing these internal dialogues, we can intentionally direct our life's trajectory and create desired outcomes.

2. Imagination is the Creative Power Within You

"Imagination is more subtle than any creature of the heavens which the Lord God had created."

Imagination as Divine Force. Imagination is not merely a passive mental process but an active, creative power that can transcend physical limitations. It represents the spiritual body's ability to detach from current environmental constraints and construct new realities.

Imagination's Unique Capabilities:

  • Can withdraw from current sensory experiences
  • Capable of visualizing desired states
  • Creates invisible bridges between current and desired realities
  • Operates beyond physical space and time limitations

Manifestation Process. To harness imagination's power, one must:

  • Construct a detailed mental representation of the desired state
  • Repeatedly perform imaginary actions
  • Maintain the feeling of the wish fulfilled
  • Allow the spiritual body to prepare the new environment

3. Your Inner Conversations Shape Your Outer Reality

"Every idle word that man shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."

Language as Reality Constructor. Our internal dialogues are not merely passive reflections but active creators of our external experiences. What we consistently think and say internally manifests as our lived reality, making our inner conversations powerful creative tools.

Inner Conversation Dynamics:

  • Thoughts follow established mental tracks
  • Consistent inner narratives create corresponding external conditions
  • Changing inner dialogue can transform life circumstances
  • The subconscious mind responds to repeated statements

Practical Application. By consciously monitoring and deliberately shaping inner conversations, individuals can systematically redesign their life experiences, moving from passive observation to active creation.

4. Consciousness Determines Your Life's Experiences

"All that you behold, tho' it appears without, it is within, in your imagination, of which this world of mortality is but a shadow."

Consciousness as Causal Layer. Every external event is a manifestation of an internal state of consciousness. What appears to be happening "out there" is actually a projection of inner psychological conditions, with meaning existing at different levels of awareness.

Levels of Consciousness:

  • Lowest level: Physical events ("what" happened)
  • Intermediate level: Event mechanisms ("how" it happened)
  • Highest level: Underlying purpose ("why" it happened)

Transformational Insight. By shifting consciousness, one can fundamentally alter external experiences. This requires moving beyond surface-level interpretations to understanding the deeper psychological dynamics generating life's circumstances.

5. Faith Transcends Sensory Evidence

"Faith sacrifices the apparent fact for the unapparent truth."

Faith as Creative Power. True faith involves believing in unseen possibilities beyond current sensory evidence. It requires the courage to imagine and assume a desired state, despite contradictory physical appearances.

Faith Characteristics:

  • Disregards current limitations
  • Assumes the feeling of the wish fulfilled
  • Persists beyond rational explanations
  • Transforms invisible states into visible realities

Practical Manifestation. By consistently holding an inner assumption and feeling of already having achieved a desire, individuals can transcend current physical constraints and manifest seemingly impossible outcomes.

6. Persistent Imagination Transforms Reality

"Do it over and over and over again until it takes on the tones of reality."

Repetition as Manifestation Mechanism. Transforming imagination into physical reality requires consistent, focused mental rehearsal. By repeatedly performing an imaginary action with emotional engagement, one can shift internal states and consequently external experiences.

Manifestation Stages:

  • Construct detailed mental scenario
  • Repeatedly perform imaginary actions
  • Maintain emotional authenticity
  • Allow unconscious processes to create bridging events

Breakthrough Insight. The key to manifestation lies not in sporadic visualization but in persistent, emotionally charged mental rehearsal that makes the desired state feel completely natural.

7. The Four Mighty Ones: Your Inner Creative Functions

"The 'Four Mighty Ones' constitute the selfhood of man, or God in man."

Inner Creative Mechanism. Human creativity operates through four interconnected mental functions: producer (theme initiator), author (scenario designer), director (attention manager), and actor (experience embodier).

Creative Process Dynamics:

  • Producer suggests initial desire/theme
  • Author details the fulfilled scenario
  • Director maintains focused attention
  • Actor internally experiences the desire's realization

Holistic Creation. These four functions work collaboratively to transform inner intentions into outer experiences, representing a unified creative mechanism within human consciousness.

8. Meaning Exists on Different Levels of Consciousness

"There is no object or event that has ever taken place or is taking place now that is without significance."

Multilayered Reality. Every experience contains multiple levels of meaning, from surface-level physical events to deeper psychological significance. Understanding these layers reveals life's inherent complexity and purpose.

Consciousness Levels:

  • Physical event observation
  • Mechanical event analysis
  • Psychological event interpretation
  • Spiritual event understanding

Transformational Perspective. By learning to perceive events from higher consciousness levels, individuals can extract deeper meaning, recognize interconnections, and navigate life more intentionally.

9. You Are the Author of Your Life's Drama

"All that we behold is a visual construction contrived to express a theme."

Life as Conscious Performance. Human experience resembles a theatrical production where individuals unconsciously or consciously write, direct, and perform their life's script through imagination.

Dramatic Creation Process:

  • Conceive initial life theme
  • Dramatize desired scenario
  • Rehearse internal performance
  • Allow external manifestation

Empowerment Principle. Recognizing oneself as the primary creative force eliminates victim mentality and enables deliberate life design through conscious imagination.

10. Continuously Grow and Shed Limiting Environments

"Man is immortal; therefore he must die endlessly. For life is a creative idea; it can only find itself in changing forms."

Dynamic Personal Evolution. Personal growth requires continuously shedding outdated mental and environmental structures, much like a serpent sheds its skin, to enable ongoing expansion and transformation.

Growth Strategies:

  • Recognize current environment as manifestation of consciousness
  • Develop capacity to imaginatively detach from limitations
  • Create new internal states
  • Allow external environment to naturally realign

Transformational Wisdom. True personal development involves periodic "deaths" of previous self-concepts, enabling continuous renewal and more expansive expressions of potential.

Last updated:

Review Summary

4.43 out of 5
Average of 500+ ratings from Goodreads and Amazon.

Seedtime and Harvest receives mostly positive reviews, with readers praising its insights on prayer and imagination. Many find Goddard's approach to spirituality refreshing and transformative. The book is described as concise yet powerful, blending metaphysical concepts with practical advice. Some readers appreciate Goddard's unique interpretation of scripture, while others find the language challenging. Critics note repetitiveness and a lack of scientific validation. Overall, readers value the book's teachings on belief, visualization, and personal transformation, often recommending it for those interested in spiritual growth.

Your rating:

About the Author

Neville Goddard was a prominent spiritual teacher and author known for his metaphysical interpretations of scripture and teachings on the power of imagination. Born in Barbados in 1905, he moved to the United States as a young man and began lecturing on spiritual matters in the 1930s. Goddard's work focuses on the idea that our imagination creates reality, and he taught techniques for using mental imagery to manifest desires. His teachings blend elements of Christianity, mysticism, and New Thought philosophy. Goddard wrote numerous books and gave lectures until his death in 1972, leaving a lasting impact on the self-help and spiritual genres.

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