‘Ask and it will be given to you… Seek, and you will find… Knock, and it will be opened to you…’

‘At first sight, these precepts seem to be very simple. ‘Ask’, for instance… is there anything we don’t ask for? We all have families, friends and lovers and we never stop asking God and the Invisible World, Nature and the Angels, for everything they could possibly need or wish for.

But then, when we don’t get what we have asked for, we are disappointed and conclude that the Invisible World is treating us unjustly. We have so often asked to no avail. Why? Simply because we are ignorant of the laws involved. When you see something in a shop that you want to buy, you ask a assistant for it, that is true, but that is not the end of it: you also have to give something in exchange. If you refuse to pay, you will not be given anything at all.

In nature, in the invisible world, the system is exactly the same as in the shops of the physical world. The Invisible World tells us, ‘Give your heart to God and he will give you everything in exchange.’ But you reply, I can’t; I’ve already given it to others… I have a wife and children, and an adorable mistress: I have no heart left to give.’

This is why your prayers are never answered. You imagine that you are going to be able to get something for nothing; but it is impossible. ‘Ask, and it will be given to you’ implies, first and foremost, that you give something. You have to give part of your conscious attention, part of your time and your daily efforts, part of your thoughts and feelings. If you do that, then you will receive.’

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
Complete Works, Vol. 1, The Second Birth, Love, Wisdom, Truth
Chapter 6