“Prayer and intention definitely have an effect. But prayer from a higher-self connection works better… When we truly expects results, prayer has greater power. But of course, this fact has ominous implications that we all must take to heart, because if it is true that affirmative prayer has the greatest effect, then it follows that any affirmation is in some sense a prayer — even if the expectation we hold is less than positive.” James Redfield’s essay, Intuition, in Imagine What America Could be in the 21st Century,

I often break the Life On Purpose Process into two major stages:

• The clarifying your life purpose stage (Passages 1-4), and
• The Living true to your Divinely Inspired Life Purpose stage (Passages 5-6)

An integral part of this all important second stage is the Power Tools for Living On Purpose. There are about 16 different tools that can be used to custom design your life on purpose. One of those is the Purpose Prayer which is actually a modified Purpose Practice in that it’s intended to be used at the start of each day to bring more awareness to your life purpose.

A Purpose Prayer is a longer passage that includes your life purpose, and which you say with passion as a created declaration of who you intend to be that day. Some people may find they have a bit of “reactivating baggage or history” with the word, prayer, especially if your relationship with God or religion has been traumatic. If that is the case, you could either take on retiring the disempowering meaning you’ve ascribed to the word, or if you prefer, use the term Purpose Pledge. After all, the definition of pledge is: “a solemn promise or agreement to do or refrain from doing something.” I would expand that definition to include a solemn promise to be something as well.

One of my favorite Purpose Practices is my morning walk. Since I live in a particularly beautiful part of the world—the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina—I find that walking in nature allows me to easily get in touch with my life purpose and the Divine Energy from which it comes. During this walks I recite the my Purpose Prayer out loud.

I invite you to read the following prayer out loud to yourself and as you do, imagine how making a similar solemn pledge (one that arose from your own life purpose) at the start of each day could, over time, enhance your life:

Good morning Mother-Father God, Infinite Universe, Divine Source. I come in this moment to co-create who I am — knowing that who I am is who I say I am with commitment and intent into your generous, gentle, grace-filled, and loving listening. Who I say I am is a divine spiritual being who chooses to live an inspired and inspiring life of purposeful, passionate, and playful service; a life of mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, and spiritual serenity. This is who I am.

I rest in the assurance of knowing and trusting down to the very core of my being and soul that as I live true to this purpose I have said myself to be, the entire Universe continues to provide amply, abundantly, and in perfect timing all the resources necessary for the ongoing expression and fulfillment of this purpose.

Therefore, my job first and foremost is to continue living true to this purpose, and secondly to share this purpose as a possibility — the possibility of others living their own lives on purpose. I do live a purposeful, passionate, and playful life of service, a life of mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, and a life of spiritual serenity. It is this clarity of purpose that I am so grateful for because it allows me to tap into a wellspring of passion, enthusiasm, love, and wisdom as I purposefully, passionately, and playfully—in awe and wonder, free and flowing, with a willingness to explore and to experiment— as I be of service to all of humankind, to life itself, to dear, sweet Mother Earth, and ultimately to you, God, Divine Source of it all.

I also live a life of mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, in that I know and experience living in and being an integral part of an infinitely abundant universe, where there are ample resources of every form and description readily available for the asking. I balance this deep knowing with a simple and elegant way of life.

Most importantly of all, I live a life of spiritual serenity, knowing that I am consistently connected to and in communication with the cosmic consciousness and creator of this incredible Kosmos, whom I know as God.

Now, obviously since this Purpose Prayer/Pledge focuses on my Divinely Inspired Life Purpose, it is more likely to have power and meaning to me than to anyone else, Still, it can also be used as guide or template for creating your own Purpose Pledge. So, let’s look ‘under the hood’ to examine the inner workings of this prayer.

Who Are You Anyway?

The first paragraph answers that very question that has been asked throughout the ages – “Who am I?”

Good morning Mother-Father God, Infinite Universe, Divine Source. I come in this moment to co-create who I am — knowing that who I am is who I say I am with commitment and intent into your generous, gentle, grace-filled, and loving listening. Who I say I am is a divine spiritual being who chooses to live an inspired and inspiring life of purposeful, passionate, and playful service; a life of mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, and spiritual serenity. This is who I am.

The second paragraph says what comes out of knowing and declaring who I am:

I rest in the assurance of knowing and trusting down to the very core of my being and soul that as I live true to this purpose I have said myself to be, the entire Universe continues to provide amply, abundantly, and in perfect timing all the resources necessary for the ongoing expression and fulfillment of this purpose.

The third paragraph starts by reminding me what my job or responsibility is in the matter of living my life on purpose. It also begins to elaborate and deepen each aspects of my life purpose statement starting with purpose and then moving on to look more deeply at the connection between purpose and passion (as in purposeful and passionate service):

Therefore, my job first and foremost is to continue living true to this purpose, and secondly to share this purpose as a possibility — the possibility of others living their own lives on purpose. I do live a purposeful, passionate, and playful life of service, a life of mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, and a life of spiritual serenity. It is this clarity of purpose that I am so grateful for because it allows me to tap into a wellspring of passion, enthusiasm, love, and wisdom as I purposefully, passionately, and playfully—in awe and wonder, free and flowing, with a willingness to explore and to experiment— as I be of service to all of humankind, to life itself, to dear, sweet Mother Earth, and ultimately to you, God, Divine Source of it all.

The last two paragraphs finishes off the deeper exploration of my life purpose statement, focusing on the mindful abundance balanced with simplicity and the spiritual serenity phrases:

I also live a life of mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, in that I know and experience living in and being an integral part of an infinitely abundant universe, where there are ample resources of every form and description readily available for the asking. I balance this deep knowing with a simple and elegant way of life.

Most importantly of all, I live a life of spiritual serenity, knowing that I am consistently connected to and in communication with the cosmic consciousness and creator of this incredible Kosmos, whom I know as God.

I’ve been “pouring my life” into the context or container of my life purpose for over sixteen years. Most of those approximately 5,840 days have started with my walking with one or more of my dogs around my picturesque mountain setting declaring and pledging to live true to my life purpose as articulated by this Purpose Prayer.

I live a blessed, grace-filled life. It really works. Why not give it a try for 4-5,000 days and let me know how works for you.