About Affirmative Prayer
When most people think of prayer, they think of asking God for something. Not so in Unity.
Affirmative prayer is empowering prayer. In Unity, prayer is affirmative rather than supplicatory. Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore taught:
"Prayer is more than supplication. It is an affirmation of Truth that eternally exists, but which has not yet come into consciousness. It comes into consciousness not by supplication but by affirmation."
The Revealing Word
An affirmation is a statement of truth we use as an anchor for our mind. Just as we know the sun is always shining behind a cloudy sky, we can know the truth about wholeness, abundance, and harmony, while moving through illness, financial strain, and disharmony.
We recognize that wholeness, abundance, and harmony are examples of ways we can describe the power of God. That power, we realize in prayer, is the power within us as well as around us. In prayer, we begin to see that we are therefore not powerless; in fact, we are powerfully able to cooperate with the ideal of wholeness, abundance, and harmony.
Myrtle Fillmore, whose practice of prayer led to the Unity methods, said:
This is our method of prayer: acknowledging our oneness with God, claiming the ability that this gives, and expecting to have the things needed and conducive to spiritual progress.
Myrtle Fillmore’s Healing Letters
The Unity Affirmative Prayer Flow
Affirmative prayer is empowering prayer, beginning with our recognition of the all-pervading, universal power that is God.
In prayer, we shift the focus of our attention away from our human circumstances and toward our spiritual nature that is one with God. From this state of unified awareness, we claim and declare the Truth beyond our circumstances and realize our capacity to think and act accordingly.
- I open. Breathing deeply, relaxing my body, and focusing within, I create space for a new understanding.
- I recognize God is. I recognize there is only one power and presence I can describe as life, love, wisdom, or any divine quality that appears needed.
- I integrate human and divine. In silent reflection, I begin to see that the power of God is the very power within me. I declare “I Am” that very power.
- I realize. Therefore, I conclude that I have within me the power to be, to do, to have, to allow, and to experience wholeness in new, specific, actionable ways.
- I appreciate. Grateful for my growing spiritual awareness and the fulfillment of prayer, I am empowered to live fully now and in to a fulfilling future.
A Primer on Affirmative Prayer
Let leaders of the Unity Prayer Ministry walk you through the affirmative prayer process in this video from 2022 World Day of Prayer.
The Unity Prayer Ministry is here to support your every prayer need. Contact us for free, confidential prayer support.
The Unity Prayer Ministry is Global. We have prayer affiliates around the world.