HOW TO DRAW UPON HIGHER POWER
FOUR MEN WERE sitting in the locker room of a country club after a game. Talk about golf scores drifted into a discussion of personal difficulties and problems. One man was especially despondent. The others, his friends, realizing his unhappy state of mind, had arranged this game to get his mind off his difficult situation. They hoped a few hours on the golf course might afford him some relief.
Now, as they sat around after the game, various suggestions were offered him.
Finally one of the men arose to go. He knew about difficulties, for he’d had plenty him- self, but he had found some vital answers to his problems. He stood hesitantly, then laid his hand on his friend’s shoulder. "George," he said, "I hope you won’t think I am preaching at you. Really, I’m not, but I would like to suggest something. It’s the way I got through my difficulties. It really works if you work it, and it’s this. ‘Why not draw upon that Higher Power?’ "
He slapped his friend affectionately on the back and left the group. The other men sat mulling this over. Finally the discouraged man said slowly, "I know what he means and I know where the Higher Power is. I only wish I knew how to draw upon it. It’s what I need all right."
Well, in due course he discovered how to draw upon that Higher Power, and it changed everything for him. Now he is a healthy, happy man.
The advice given at the golf club is really very wise. There are many people today who are unhappy and depressed and just not getting anywhere with themselves or with conditions. And they do not need to be that way. Really they don’t. The secret is to draw upon that Higher Power. And how is that done?
Let me tell you about a personal experience. When quite young I was called to a large church in a university community and many of my congregation were professors in the university as well as leading citizens of the city. I wanted to justify the confidence of those who gave me such an outstanding opportunity and accordingly worked very hard. As a result I began to experience overstrain. Everyone should work hard, but there is no virtue in over trying or over pressing to such an extent that you do not work efficiently. It is somewhat like making a golf shot. Try to "kill" the ball and you execute the shot poorly. You can do likewise in your job. I began to get rather tired and nervous and had no feeling of normal power.
One day I decided to call on one of the professors, the late Hugh M. Tilroe, a great friend of mine. He was a wonderful teacher, and he was also a great fisherman and hunter. He was a man’s man, an outdoor personality. I knew that if I did not find him at the university he would be out on the lake fishing, and sure enough there he was. He came ashore at my hail. "The fish are biting—come on," he said. I climbed in his boat and we fished awhile.
"What’s the matter, son?" he asked with understanding. I told him how hard I was trying and that it was getting me down nervously. "I have no feeling of lift or power," I said.
He chuckled. "Maybe you’re trying too hard." As the boat scraped the shore he said, "Come in the house with me." As we entered his cabin he ordered, "Lie down there on that couch. I want to read you something. Shut your eyes and relax while I find the quotation."
I did as directed, and thought he was going to read me some philosophical or perhaps diverting piece, but instead he said, "Here it is. Listen quietly while I read it to you. And let these words sink in. ‘Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they
shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ "( Isa 40:28-31)
Then he asked, "Do you know from what I am reading?" "Yes, the fortieth chapter of Isaiah," I answered. "I’m glad you know your Bible," he commented. "Why don’t you practice it? Now relax. Take three deep breaths—in and out slowly. Practice resting yourself in God. Practice depending upon Him for His sup- port and power. Believe He is giving it to you now and don’t get out of touch with that power. Yield yourself to it—let it flow through you."
"Give your job all you’ve got. Of course you must do that. But do it in a relaxed and easy manner like a batter in a big-league ball game. He swings the bat easylike, and doesn’t try to knock the ball out of the park. He just does the best he can and believes in himself because he knows that he has lots of reserve power." Then he repeated the passage again. "‘ They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.’ "
That was a long time ago, but I never forgot that lesson. He taught me how to draw upon that Higher Power, and believe me, his suggestions worked. I continue to follow my friend’s advice, and it has never failed me in the more than twenty years that have passed since then. My life is crowded with activity but that power formula gives me all the strength I need.
A second method for drawing upon that Higher Power is to learn to take a positive, optimistic attitude toward every problem. In direct proportion to the intensity of the faith which you muster will you receive power to meet your situations.
"According to your faith be it unto you," (Mt 9:29) is a basic law of successful living.
There is a Higher Power, and that Power can do everything for you. Draw upon it and experience its great helpfulness. Why be defeated when you are free to draw upon that Higher Power? State your problem. Ask for a specific answer. Believe that you are getting that answer. Believe that now, through God’s help, you are gaining power over your difficulty.
A man and his wife who were in real trouble came to see me. This gentleman, a former magazine editor, was a distinguished figure in music and artistic circles. Every one liked him for his geniality and friendliness. His wife was held in similar high regard. She was in poor health and as a result they had retired to the country where they were living in semi-seclusion.
This man told me he had experienced two heart attacks, one quite severe. His wife was in a steady decline and he was deeply concerned about her. The question he put was this: "Can I get hold of some power that can help us recover ourselves physically and give us new hope and courage and strength?" The situation as he described it was a series of discouragements and defeats.
Frankly I felt that he was a bit too sophisticated to permit himself to adopt and utilize the simple trust that would be necessary if faith were to rehabilitate him. I told him I rather doubted he had the capacity to practice simple faith enough to open the sources of power according to the techniques of Christianity.
But he assured me he was in earnest and was open-minded and would follow any directions given. I saw his honesty and the real quality of his soul and have had a great affection for him ever since. I gave him a simple prescription. He was to read the New Testament and the Psalms until his mind was saturated with them. I gave him the usual suggestion of committing passages to memory. Principally I urged him to utilize the formula of putting his life in the hands of God, at the same time believing that God was filling him with power, and his wife also, and that the two of them were to believe unfalteringly that they were being guided in even the most commonplace details of their lives.
They were also to believe that in co-operation with their physician, whom I happened to know and admire, that the healing grace of Jesus Christ was being given them. I suggested that they picturize the healing power of the Great Physician as already working within them.
Seldom have I seen two people who became more gloriously childlike in their faith and whose trust was more complete. They became enthusiastic about the Bible and would often telephone me about "some wonderful passage" they had just found. They gave me fresh insights into the truths of the Bible. It was a truly creative process working with this man and his wife.
The next spring Helen (that is the wife’s name) said, "I have never experienced a more wonderful springtime. The flowers this year are the loveliest I have ever seen and have you noticed the sky with its extraordinary cloud formations and the delicate colors at dawn and sunset? The leaves seem greener this year, and I have never heard the birds sing with such ecstasy and melody." When she said this there was an ecstatic light on her face and I knew she had been reborn in the spirit. And she began to improve physically, regaining a large share of her old-time strength. Her native creative power began to flow forth once again and life took on new meaning.
As for Horace, there has been no more heart trouble, and physical, mental, and spiritual vigor mark him as extraordinarily vital. They have moved into a new community and have become a center of its life. Wherever they go they touch people with a strange uplifting force.
What is the secret which they discovered? Simply that they learned to draw upon that Higher Power.
This Higher Power is one of the most amazing facts in human existence. I am awestruck, no matter how many times I have seen the phenomenon, by the thoroughgoing, tremendous, overwhelming changes for good that it accomplishes in the lives of people. Personally, I am so enthusiastic about all that the Higher Power can do for people that I am loath to bring this book to a close. I could recite story after story, incident after incident of those who by laying hold of this power have had a new birth of life.
This power is constantly available. If you open to it, it will rush in like a mighty tide. It is there for anybody under any circumstances or in any condition. This tremendous inflow of power is of such force that in its in- rush it drives everything before it, casting out fear, hate, sickness, weakness, moral defeat, scattering them as though they had never touched you, refreshing and restrengthening your life with health, happiness, and goodness.
For many years I have been interested in the problem of the alcoholic and in the organization known as Alcoholics Anonymous. One of their basic principles is that before a person can be helped he must recognize that he is an alcoholic and that of himself he can do nothing; that he has no power within himself; that he is defeated. When he accepts this point of view he is in a position to receive help from other alcoholics and from the Higher Power—God.
Another principle is the willingness to depend upon the Higher Power from whom he derives a strength which he does not himself possess. The working of this power in men’s lives is the most moving and thrilling fact in this world. No other manifestation of power of any kind is equal to it. Materialistic power achievement is a romantic story. Men discover laws and formulas and harness power to do remarkable things. Spiritual power also follows laws. Mastery of these laws works wonders in an area more complicated than any form of mechanics, namely, human nature. It is one thing to make a machine work right. To make human nature work right is something else. It requires greater skill, but it can be done.
I sat one day under swaying palm trees in Florida listening to the story of a demonstration of Higher Power activity in the life of a man who narrowly escaped tragedy. He told me that he started drinking at the age of sixteen, "as it was the so-called smart thing to do." After twenty-three years, beginning as a social drinker, he "came to the end of the road on April 24, 1947." A growing hatred and bitterness toward his wife who had deserted him and toward his mother-in-law and sister-in-law culminated in his decision to kill these three women. I relate the story as he told it to me, in his own language.
"To strengthen myself for this gory task I went into a bar. A few more drinks would give me the courage to commit this triple murder. As I entered the bar I saw a young man by the name of Carl drinking coffee."
Although I had hated Carl from boyhood I was utterly astounded to note his immaculate appearance, and I was also astonished to see him drinking coffee in a bar where he had spent on an average of $400 a month for drinks alone. Also I was mystified by what seemed a strange light on his face. Being fascinated by his appearance, I approached Carl and asked, ‘What happened to you that you are drinking coffee?’
"‘ I have not had a drink for a year," Carl replied. "I was utterly amazed, because Carl and I had been on many drinking bouts together. A strange incident in this affair is that even though I hated Carl I was strangely moved. I could not help but listen when he asked, ‘Ed, did you ever want to quit drinking?’"
"‘ Yes, I have quit a thousand times,’ I replied. "Carl smiled and said, ‘If you really want to do something about your problem, get sober and attend a meeting at the Presbyterian Church at nine on Saturday. It is a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.’
"I told him I had no interest in religion, but that maybe I would come. I was unimpressed, but still I could not get that light in his eyes out of my mind."
"Carl did not insist that I attend the meeting, but repeated that if I wanted to do something for myself he and his associates had an answer to my problem. After making that statement Carl left and I stood up to the bar to order a drink, but somehow it had lost its appeal."
So, instead, I went home, the only home I had remaining, my mother’s home.
"May I explain that I had been married for seventeen years to a very fine girl, but being an impatient person and having no faith in me due to my drinking, she finally decided upon getting a divorce, so not only my job and all my material assets but my home also were completely lost."
"Upon getting to my mother’s home I wrestled with a bottle until 6 A. M., but still could not take the drink. I kept thinking of Carl’s appearance. So on Saturday morning I went to Carl and asked him what I could do to keep from taking a drink until nine o’clock that night when the meeting would be held."
Carl said, ‘Every time you come to a bar or whisky sign or beer garden, just say one little prayer—"Please, God, get me past this place," ‘and then he added, "Run like hell. That will be co-operating with God. He will hear your prayer and the running will be your part.’"
"I did exactly as Carl told me to do. For many hours, anxious and shaky, accompanied by my sister, I walked around the streets of the town. Finally at eight o’clock my sister said, ‘Ed, there are seven drinking joints between here and the place where you are to attend the meeting. You go by yourself, and if you don’t make it and come home drunk we will still love you and hope for the best, but somehow I feel that this meeting will be different than any you ever attended.’ With God’s help I got by those seven places."
"At the church entrance I happened to look around and the sign over one of my favorite drinking places glared me straight in the eyes. The battle to decide whether to go into that bar or into the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting is one I shall never forget, but a Power greater than myself pulled me to the meeting."
"Upon entering the meeting room I was utterly astounded to receive the firm handshake of my ex-hated friend, Carl. My resentment toward him was disappearing. A round of introductions began to many men in all walks of life—doctors, lawyers, bricklayers, millwrights, coal miners, construction workers, plasterers, laborers—all types were there. I had been drinking with some of these men for the last ten to twenty-five years and here they were all sober on a Saturday night, and, above all, they were happy."
"What happened at that meeting is rather vague. All I know is that a rebirth had taken place. I felt different deep within."
"Happily leaving the meeting room at midnight, I went home with a glorious air-lifting feeling and slept peaceably for the first time in more than five years. Upon awakening the next morning, I recall something clearly saying to me, ‘There is a Power greater than yourself. If you will turn your will and your life over to the care of God as you understand Him, He will give you strength.’"
"It was Sunday morning, and I decided to go to church. I attended a service where the preacher was a man whom I had hated from childhood. (The author wishes to comment at this point how inevitably hate is associated with emotional and spiritual sickness. When the mind is emptied of hate, a long step has been taken toward recovery. Love is a tremendous curative force.) This preacher was one of those sedate, swallowtailed-coat-wearing Presbyterian ministers. I had no use for him, but that was my fault. He was all right really. I sat nervously through the singing and
the collection taking. Then the preacher read his Scripture, and his sermon was based upon the theme, ‘Never belittle anyone’s experience—he had it.’ I shall never forget that sermon as long as I live. It taught me a valuable lesson—never to belittle an experience because someone had it, for he and God know the depth and sincerity of that experience."
"Later I came to love this minister as one of the greatest, most sincere men I have ever known."
"Just where my new life began is a matter that is difficult to determine. Whether it was when I met Carl in the bar, or wrestling past the drinking places, or at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, or at the church, I do not know. But I, who had been a hopeless alcoholic for twenty-five years, suddenly became a sober man. I could never have done this alone, for I had tried it a thousand times and failed. But I drew upon a Higher Power and the Higher Power, which is God, did it."
I have known the narrator of the foregoing story for several years. Since becoming "dry" he has had to face some difficult financial and other problems. But never once has he weakened. In talking with him I find myself strangely moved. It isn’t what he says or even the way he says it, but one is conscious of a power emanating from this man. He is not a famous person. He is an everyday, hard-working salesman, but the Higher Power is in him, flowing through him, operating within his experience, and it transmits itself to others. It transmitted itself to me.
This chapter is not intended as a dissertation on alcoholism, although I will use still another reference in connection with this problem. I cite these experiences to show conclusively that if there is a Power able to deliver a person from alcoholism, this same Power can help any other person to overcome any other form of defeat he may face. There is nothing more difficult to overcome than the problem of alcoholism. The Power that can accomplish that difficult feat can, I assure you, help you to overcome your difficulties whatever they may be.
Let me give still another experience. I narrate this incident for the same purpose, namely, to emphasize that there is a Power which can be applied, drawn upon, and used that mysteriously but surely gives to people who demonstrate faith the most remarkable victories.
In the Hotel Roanoke at Roanoke, Virginia, one night a man who has since become a good friend told me the following story. Two years before he had read my book, A Guide to Confident Living. At that time he was considered by himself and by others to be an utterly hopeless alcoholic. He is a businessman in a Virginia. town and is of such ability that despite his drinking problem he was able to keep going with fair success. He had absolutely no control over his drinking, however, and evident deterioration was taking place.
Upon reading the book above mentioned, the idea was lodged in his mind that if he could only get to New York he could be cured of his difficulty. He came to New York but was dead drunk when he arrived. A friend took him to a hotel and left him. He recovered sufficient consciousness to call a bellboy and told him that he wanted to go to the Townes Hospital, a famous institution for alcoholics, presided over by the late Dr. Silkworth, one of the greatest men in the field of alcoholism—now deceased but never to be forgotten.
After robbing him of one hundred or more dollars which he had in his pocket, the bellboy delivered him to the hospital. After several days of treatment, Dr. Silkworth came in to see him and said, "Charles, I think we have done for you all that we can do. I have a feeling that you are well."
This was not Dr. Silkworth’s usual practice, and the fact that he handled this case in this manner causes one to sense the guiding hand of a Higher Power.
Still somewhat shaky, Charles made his way downtown until he found himself outside the office door of the Marble Collegiate Church, 1 West 29th Street, New York City. It happened to be a legal holiday and the church was closed. (Other than such holidays the church is always open.) He stood there hesitantly. He had hoped that he might go into the church and pray. Not being able to gain entrance, he did a strange thing. He took from his wallet one of his business cards and dropped it through the mail slot in the door.
The instant he did that a tremendous wave of peace came over him. He had an amazing sense of release. He put his head against the door and sobbed like a baby, but he knew that he was free, that some tremendous change had happened to him the validity of which is attested by the fact that from that minute on there has been no turning back. He has lived in complete sobriety from that moment.
There are several features about this incident which mark it as impressive. For one. Dr. Silkworth seemed to have released him from the hospital at the proper psychological, spiritual, and shall we say supernatural moment, indicating that the doctor himself was the subject of Divine guidance.
When Charles told me this story in the Hotel Roanoke two years after it happened, I had a feeling as he related it that I had heard it before in precise detail. But he had never told me this story. In fact, I had never previously talked to him. It occurred to me that perhaps he had written the story to me and I had read it, but he said he had never written me. I then asked him if he had told the story to one of my secretaries, associates, or any other person who could have related it to me, but he said he had never told the story to any other individual save his wife and I had not
met her until that night. Apparently this incident had been transmitted to my subconscious at the time it happened for now I "remembered" it.
Why did he drop the card in the mail slot? Perhaps he was symbolically reporting to his spiritual home, reporting to God. It was a dramatic and symbolic separation of himself from his defeat and the turning to a Higher Power which immediately took him out of himself and healed him.
The incident indicates that if there is deep desire, intensity of longing, and a sincere reaching out after the Power that it will be given.
In this chapter I have related victory stories out of human experience, each in its own way indicating the continual presence and availability of a life-renewing Power, beyond but resident within ourselves. Your problem may not be alcoholism, but the fact that the Higher Power can heal a person of this most difficult malady emphasizes the tremendous truth related in this chapter and throughout the entire book and that there is no problem, difficulty, or defeat that you cannot solve or overcome by faith, positive thinking, and prayer to God. The techniques are simple and workable. And God will help you always, just as the writer of the following letter was helped.
"Dear Dr. Peale: When we think of all the wonderful things that have happened to us since we first met you and started coming to the Marble Church, it seems nothing short of a miracle. When you realize that just six years ago this month I was totally broke—in fact thousands of dollars in debt—a complete physical washout—and had hardly a friend in the world because of my excess drinking—you can see why we have to pinch ourselves every now and then to realize that our good fortune isn’t all a dream."
"As you well know, alcohol wasn’t the only problem I had six years ago. It has been said that I was one of the most negative people you ever saw. That’s only a half truth. For I was filled with gripes, all sorts of irritation, and was one of the most super-critical, impatient, cocky individuals that you could have possibly met even in all your travels."
"Now, please don’t think I feel I have overcome all these obsessions. I haven’t. I am one of those people that have to do a day-to-day job on myself. But gradually, by trying to follow your teachings, I am learning to control myself and be less critical of my fellow man. And it is like being released from a prison. I just never dreamed that life could be so full and wonderful. Sincerely (Signed) Dick." Why not draw upon that Higher Power?
Epilogue
You HAVE FINISHED this book. What have you read?
Simply a series of practical and workable techniques for living a successful life. You have read a formula of belief and practice which should help you win victory over every defeat.
Examples have been given of people who have believed and who have applied the suggested techniques. These stories have been told to demonstrate that through the same methods you can obtain the same results as they did. But reading is not enough. Now please go back and persistently practice each technique given in this book. Keep at it until you obtain the desired results.
I wrote this book out of a sincere desire to help you. It will give me great happiness to know that the book has helped you. I have absolute confidence and belief in the principles and methods outlined in this volume. They have been tested in the laboratory of spiritual experience and practical demonstration. They work when worked.
We may never meet in person, but in this book we have met. We are spiritual friends. I pray for you. God will help you—so believe and live successfully.
(From Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale)
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