This episode of The Neville Goddard Lectures Podcast features the lecture summary read by Lynna K. Teer, along with the full original lecture “How to Really Pray” by Neville Goddard.
In “How to Really Pray,” Neville Goddard teaches that prayer is not a request directed toward an external deity. It is a deliberate inner act of assumption. Drawing from Scripture, Neville explains that true prayer is the acceptance of the desired end as an already accomplished reality within consciousness.
Neville reminds us that effective prayer does not depend upon pleading, repetition, emotional intensity, or carefully chosen words. Prayer becomes effective when man enters a relaxed state akin to sleep and feels the reality of the wish fulfilled. Through feeling, the desired state is impressed upon the subconscious mind and eventually brought into visible expression.
Prayer is always answered because true prayer is an act of selection rather than petition. Man selects a state from the infinite possibilities existing within consciousness and occupies it inwardly. The external world then reflects that inner occupancy according to law.
Doubt, waiting, and searching for confirmation contradict the act of prayer because they imply separation from fulfillment. To pray rightly is to live from the end, trusting the unseen reality accepted within imagination rather than reacting to present appearances.
Scripture, when interpreted psychologically rather than historically, reveals prayer as the conscious use of imagination. The instruction to believe that we have already received what we ask for describes the inner attitude necessary for fulfillment. Man must accept the desired state as present reality and remain faithful to it before external evidence appears.
In this lecture, Neville clarifies:
- Why prayer is an act of assumption rather than a request
- What it means to accept the desired end as already fulfilled
- How the state akin to sleep supports effective prayer
- Why feeling impresses an assumption upon the subconscious mind
- How doubt and waiting imply separation from fulfillment
- Why living from the end allows the outer world to reflect the inner state
Under The Law, man discovers that prayer is the conscious selection and occupation of a state. Instead of asking an external power to change his circumstances, he enters imagination and experiences the feeling of his wish fulfilled. By remaining faithful to that state, he allows the desired condition to become expressed in the world of experience.
Under The Promise, man awakens to the divine identity of the One who prays. He realizes that God is not a distant being receiving human petitions, but the divine imagination operating within man. Prayer ultimately becomes communion with the God within and participation in the unfolding revelation of divine sonship.
To pray is not to ask and hope. It is to assume and feel.
“How to Really Pray” reveals that prayer is a creative act. When man learns to pray through assumption rather than petition, he no longer waits for an external power to grant his desire. He consciously uses imagination to occupy the fulfilled state, trusts its unseen reality, and allows experience to conform naturally to what has been accepted within.
For structured study resources, original lecture archives, and deeper exploration of Neville Goddard’s teachings, visit NevilleGoddardOfficial.com.
To explore the practical application of The Law, listen to The Mindset and Manifesting Podcast.
For discussions devoted entirely to The Promise and spiritual awakening, listen to The Journey of Awakening Podcast.
For insight into the pattern of Scripture unfolding within man, listen to The Bible Your Biography Podcast.
Shop Neville Goddard books at The Neville Goddard Collection.
