Ruling Art - thebookmann

How to Move Mountains, the power of the bookman

A coloured minister had called his flock together to pray for rain. The congregation had assembled and the parson discoursed on the subject of Faith.

Faith am a power to move mountains, he declaimed, if it no bigger that a mustard seed. but you all am congregated here to pray for de Almighty to send down de blessind rain and you all come widout even de mustard seed of faith. You all am here prayin’ and hopm’ dat de good Lawd will bless dis community wid plenteous rains but dey ain’t a single solitary one of you got any Faith dat He will do it. If you had a single speck of it sorne of you niggahs would have done brung umbrellas.

Prayer with hope, too often, is entirely lacking in faith for hope usually is a hopeless sort of thing. It is negative in its nature implies a doubt that the thing hoped for will be manifested. Most people intone the the word with an accent of doubt and common usage has coloured it with a measure of probably failure. Very little expectations is conveyed in the use of the word.

On the other hand a word of faith and confidence are expressed in the word Trust. If the coloured congregation has trusted that rain would follow their prayers, the confident expectation would have induced each member to bring his umbrella. but hopeful individuals at usually have umbrellas at home because the hopelessness of hope tents to offset any attempt to express confident assurance or faith.

It is difficult in many case to anticipate by affirming will hope that the dream will materialized. I hope, I will be successful is not positive affirmation and tents to merely emphasize the doubt of success. But I trust that I an doing the this necessary to earn success is with much confidence that a far goal will be achieved.

Phraseology and the selection of the vocabulary have much to do with establishing the right mental habits and thus the right behavior. The tone of the voice is important. Much doubt may be neutralized by a confident assertion even if the anticipation is not deep seated and well established.

Notes transcribed from a book on the power of thought, words and action ( cir.1940)