II. The Answer to Prayer

T-9.II.1. Everyone who ever tried to use prayer to ask for something has experienced what appears to be failure. ² This is not only true in connection with specific things that might be harmful, but also in connection with requests that are strictly in line with this course. ³ The latter in particular might be incorrectly interpreted as "proof" that the course does not mean what it says. ⁴ You must remember, however, that the course states, and repeatedly, that its purpose is the escape from fear.

T-9.II.2. Let us suppose, then, that what you ask of the Holy Spirit is what you really want, but you are still afraid of it. ² Should this be the case, your attainment of it would no longer be what you want. ³ This is why certain specific forms of healing are not achieved, even when the state of healing is. ⁴ An individual may ask for physical healing because he is fearful of bodily harm. ⁵ At the same time, if he were healed physically, the threat to his thought system might be considerably more fearful to him than its physical expression. ⁶ In this case he is not really asking for release from fear, but for the removal of a symptom that he himself selected. ⁷ This request is, therefore, not for healing at all.

T-9.II.3. The Bible emphasizes that all prayer is answered, and this is indeed true. ² The very fact that the Holy Spirit has been asked for anything will ensure a response. ³ Yet it is equally certain that no response given by Him will ever be one that would increase fear. ⁴ It is possible that His answer will not be heard. ⁵ It is impossible, however, that it will be lost. ⁶ There are many answers you have already received but have not yet heard. ⁷ I assure you that they are waiting for you.

T-9.II.4. If you would know your prayers are answered, never doubt a Son of God. ² Do not question him and do not confound him, for your faith in him is your faith in yourself. ³ If you would know God and His Answer, believe in me whose faith in you cannot be shaken. ⁴ Can you ask of the Holy Spirit truly, and doubt your brother? ⁵ Believe his words are true because of the truth that is in him. ⁶ You will unite with the truth in him, and his words will be true. ⁷ As you hear him you will hear me. ⁸ Listening to truth is the only way you can hear it now, and finally know it.

T-9.II.5. The message your brother gives you is up to you. ² What does he say to you? ³ What would you have him say? ⁴ Your decision about him determines the message you receive. ⁵ Remember that the Holy Spirit is in him, and His Voice speaks to you through him. ⁶ What can so holy a brother tell you except truth? ⁷ But are you listening to it? ⁸ Your brother may not know who he is, but there is a light in his mind that does know. ⁹ This light can shine into yours, giving truth to his words and making you able to hear them. ¹⁰ His words are the Holy Spirit's answer to you. ¹¹ Is your faith in him strong enough to let you hear?

T-9.II.6. You can no more pray for yourself alone than you can find joy for yourself alone. ² Prayer is the restatement of inclusion, directed by the Holy Spirit under the laws of God. ³ Salvation is of your brother. ⁴ The Holy Spirit extends from your mind to his, and answers you. ⁵ You cannot hear the Voice for God in yourself alone, because you are not alone. ⁶ And His answer is only for what you are. ⁷ You will not know the trust I have in you unless you extend it. ⁸ You will not trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or believe that it is for you unless you hear it in others. ⁹ It must be for your brother because it is for you. ¹⁰ Would God have created a Voice for you alone? ¹¹ Could you hear His answer except as He answers all of God's Sons? ¹² Hear of your brother what you would have me hear of you, for you would not want me to be deceived.

T-9.II.7. I love you for the truth in you, as God does. ² Your deceptions may deceive you, but they cannot deceive me. ³ Knowing what you are, I cannot doubt you. ⁴ I hear only the Holy Spirit in you, Who speaks to me through you. ⁵ If you would hear me, hear my brothers in whom God's Voice speaks. ⁶ The answer to all prayers lies in them. ⁷ You will be answered as you hear the answer in everyone. ⁸ Do not listen to anything else or you will not hear truly.

T-9.II.8. Believe in your brothers because I believe in you, and you will learn that my belief in you is justified. ² Believe in me by believing in them, for the sake of what God gave them. ³ They will answer you if you learn to ask only truth of them. ⁴ Do not ask for blessings without blessing them, for only in this way can you learn how blessed you are. ⁵ By following this way you are seeking the truth in you. ⁶ This is not going beyond yourself but toward yourself. ⁷ Hear only God's Answer in His Sons, and you are answered.

T-9.II.9. To disbelieve is to side against, or to attack. ² To believe is to accept, and to side with. ³ To believe is not to be credulous, but to accept and appreciate. ⁴ What you do not believe you do not appreciate, and you cannot be grateful for what you do not value. ⁵ There is a price you will pay for judgment, because judgment is the setting of a price. ⁶ And as you set it you will pay it.

T-9.II.10. If paying is equated with getting, you will set the price low but demand a high return. ² You will have forgotten, however, that to price is to value, so that your return is in proportion to your judgment of worth. ³ If paying is associated with giving it cannot be perceived as loss, and the reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving will be recognized. ⁴ The price will then be set high, because of the value of the return. ⁵ The price for getting is to lose sight of value, making it inevitable that you will not value what you receive. ⁶ Valuing it little, you will not appreciate it and you will not want it.

T-9.II.11. Never forget, then, that you set the value on what you receive, and price it by what you give. ² To believe that it is possible to get much for little is to believe that you can bargain with God. ³ God's laws are always fair and perfectly consistent. ⁴ By giving you receive. ⁵ But to receive is to accept, not to get. ⁶ It is impossible not to have, but it is possible not to know you have. ⁷ The recognition of having is the willingness for giving, and only by this willingness can you recognize what you have. ⁸ What you give is therefore the value you put on what you have, being the exact measure of the value you put upon it. ⁹ And this, in turn, is the measure of how much you want it.

T-9.II.12. You can ask of the Holy Spirit, then, only by giving to Him, and you can give to Him only where you recognize Him. ² If you recognize Him in everyone, consider how much you will be asking of Him, and how much you will receive. ³ He will deny you nothing because you have denied Him nothing, and so you can share everything. ⁴ This is the way, and the only way to have His answer, because His answer is all you can ask for and want. ⁵ Say, then, to everyone:

⁶ Because I will to know myself, I see you as God's Son and my brother.