Chapter Two: The Law of the Magic Lamp

I will instruct thee and teach
   thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will counsel thee with mine
   eye upon thee,
       — Psalms 32:8.

And in every work that he began ... he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
       — II Chron. 31:21.

IN THE STORY of Aladdin and the wonderful lamp, the genie did not appear simply because Aladdin wished him to appear. He appeared when Aladdin rubbed the lamp! When Aladdin set about putting into order what had been placed in his custody, his good appeared. Rub your lamp! Put into use the things that you now possess, whether they be material possessions, talents and abilities, or opportunities for service. What are you doing with what you have?

Take the step that is just ahead of you. Use what you have. Rub your lamp. Make way in your consciousness and in your affairs for the more abundant good that you desire.

It is notable that, in the seemingly miraculous demonstrations of abundance recounted in the Old and New Testaments, simple, everyday things, things that were right at hand, were made the basis of demonstrations that reached far beyond the expected. Elijah called forth abundance to meet the widow's needs by using the little oil that she had in the house. Gideon's tiny band of three

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hundred men put to rout the great hosts of the Midianites. David slew the giant with a pebble hurled from a sling shot. Jacob won a deferred dower from his father-in-law, Laban, by means of a few spotted willow sticks. Jesus broke the five loaves and the two fishes to feed five thousand. He drew forth money from a fish's mouth to pay taxes. He took simple, untrained men as His evangelists, and laid the foundation for a religion that has spread throughout the world.

Many persons say that they do not succeed in demonstrating prosperity because they have no opportunities. It would be more accurate for them to say that they can see no opportunities.

"God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform"
      William Cowper (1774)

—"mysterious" not so much because they are hidden as because they are unexpected ways. We somehow imagine that the miracles of Truth must invoke very unusual schemes and methods. Actually, they are built on simple things, imbued and impregnated with spiritual faith.

Before you confess to a belief, in lack, either of substance or opportunity, ask God to reveal to you the substance and opportunity that He has placed right at your hand. Make what you have, what you can do, or what you can envisage the basis of your demonstration.

This lesson was deeply impressed upon me by one of my own experiences in Truth. My first awakening to Truth aroused in me a great desire

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—and a very modest ability—to write. Finding this channel of expression open to me, ever so slightly, gave me great encouragement and enthusiasm. I wrote steadily and much. Most of what I wrote was very mediocre in quality, but it was so much better than I had ever believed that I could do that it seemed wonderful to me. Ideas for articles and poems poured through my mind continually. I found their expression relatively easy. This continued for quite a time; when, unaccountably and suddenly, I found myself void of ideas. I would sit at the typewriter for hours at a time without writing a word.

The experience alarmed me, and I turned to prayer and meditation for the explanation of it. The answer was not long in coming. "What have you done with what you have already written?" the silent voice asked. That was all the hint that I needed. I began to make disposition of the material that had accumulated. I sent it to magazines and in other ways got it into channels of service. Then my inspiration returned.

We block the channels of our supply when we do not use the supply that has already come to us. "What have I done with what I have?" is a question that every student who would demonstrate greater abundance should ask himself, and should answer honestly.

Often we storm the very gates of heaven for what has already been given us. We need instead to pray for vision that we may behold with receptive eyes the opportunities and blessings that

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have already reached us in God's channels. It is a mark of spiritual growth to recognize the good for which we ask.

A student once came to me very much perturbed because her husband, ordinarily a generous man, would not buy the grand piano that she desired. The family had moved into a beautiful and luxurious new home, furnished with everything to make it a charming place in which to live; everything, that is, except the piano!

The husband insisted that the old upright piano that they had owned for many years was good enough, and refused to buy the one that his wife considered appropriate. I asked her if she ever used the piano that they then had. She said no; that she could not bear the sight of it, or the sound of it either. I recommended that she overcome this prejudice and make use of the upright piano; that she play it and praise it and bless it, in order that it might "grow into" the handsome grand piano that she preferred. Smiling somewhat incredulously, she agreed to try out my suggestion. It was late afternoon when she got home. In the mellowing light and the lengthening shadows, the ugly, glaring lines of the ancient instrument were somehow softened. She thought, "It doesn't look so bad, after all." Then she sat down and began to play the instrument, a thing that she had not done for many months. Her fingers rambled from one tune to another. After a time her son and daughter came home from high school. The youth got out his trombone and accompanied

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her, and his sister hummed the tunes along with them. Before they realized it, it was dusk. The father of the family joined them; he was amazed to find them playing and singing together, and heartily enjoyed the unexpected family reunion. Within a few days the same experience was repeated.

It was not long before a grand piano made its appearance, with a half apologetic remark from the husband and father to the effect that, now that the family's interest in music was renewed, it would be nice to have an instrument that was more responsive.

Incidentally, there is much more to this story than the demonstration of a grand piano, much that cannot be told here. Such manifoldly happy results are not uncommon when we invoke the divine law in our affairs. That law blesses us in more ways than we can foresee—and more abundantly too.

Another illustration of the same principle is found in a story gleaned from the public press. I have used it elsewhere, but it will bear repeating here. When the Republican National Convention met in Kansas City a few years ago, a novelty manufacturer planned to "clean up" by the sale of little gray felt elephants. His plans were well made, and so too, probably, were the elephants. But the convention proved to be a much tamer affair than had been expected—too tame for so many elephants—and the manufacturer was left with a large and unsalable stock. It seemed to be

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a total loss, but the manufacturer refused to accept that verdict of defeat. He reduced the girth of the elephants, cut off their trunks and made tails of them, and, behold, the little felt pachyderms became little felt donkeys, which were offered for sale soon afterward at the Democratic convention at Houston! So the elephants became donkeys; loss became profits, and sorrow became joy.

The point of this story is obvious: make a donkey out of your elephant, or it will make a monkey out of you—a statement that applies to the traditional white elephant as well as it applied to the gray felt elephants in this story.

The impractical Truth student tells what he would do if conditions were different. The practical Truth student knows that "to them that love God all things work together for good." He prays, not so much for different opportunities and greater ones, as for a clear, alert vision that will reveal to him the opportunities at hand. He invokes divine aid and blessing, and resolutely makes a start toward the fulfillment of his vision, no matter how unpromising or discouraging the outlook may be. This is the unfailing way of demonstration.

If we ask for divine aid in establishing our permanent and abundant prosperity, then also we must have faith that God will lead us promptly and definitely into our good. Let us not cower before or shrink from circumstances. Rather, let us know that by the grace of God they will become

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agencies for the manifestation of our good; that the very stones will rise up to bless us—and this is almost literally true!

On one occasion a gentleman who had been quite wealthy, but who had suffered severe financial losses, came to me for consultation. He declared that he had tried repeatedly to find employment in various cities larger than the one in which I then lived, and that the possibilities of finding work in this comparatively small city seemed very meager. He affirmed his faith that God could and would help him, and that if I would pray with him he would be successful. I said: "We shall pray together about the matter, and if we pray we must believe, and act in faith. Let us give thanks that the needed employment and supply are now at hand, and that our vision is clear to accept them."

He returned to his hotel, and the next day telephoned to me about a curious experience. In the hotel where he was staying there was a small curio store. To kill time, my friend had wandered into the little shop and had got into conversation with the proprietor. He learned that the proprietor was losing money, and was thinking of closing up shop because business was so poor.

Glancing about at the grimy show cases and the general air of neglect and untidiness, my friend was not surprised. He suggested a few changes, and the proprietor seemed very grateful. "If I had a fellow like you to help me, I believe

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I could put this thing over," he said; "but my resources are now so reduced that I could not even pay you an adequate salary if you were willing to help me."

"What could you pay?" my friend asked.

"Only fifteen dollars a week," answered the shopkeeper.

My friend hurried to the telephone and told me about the experience.

"What would you advise me to do?" he asked.

"We have asked for guidance and an opening," I answered. "Now let us praise and give thanks for it. Accept the offer, not as a final solution of your problem, but as a first indication that your prayers have been heard. Do your very best, as if you actually had the kind of work and the generous salary that you would like to have. The humble position will prove to be a first step in the thousand miles that you want to travel."

He hurried to the proprietor. "I will take your offer," he said.

He did so. Nothing of outstanding interest happened for several days. Then another guest of the hotel wandered into the shop, as my friend had done. He bought nothing, but chatted a while, and seemed impressed by the intelligence and the experience of the new clerk. He said: "It seems strange to find a man of your capabilities in such a position as this. Why, you should be working for such-and-such a concern," naming a prominent business firm of the city. "They are losing money in one of their departments

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through lack of a man with just such experience as you have. I am going to tell them so." The stranger went to the telephone and called up the manager of the concern. "I don't know you personally, but I do know that you are losing money in your basement department," he said. "You need a more experienced manager for that department, and I know just the man to fill the place."

Whether the manager was actually impressed, or was too surprised to resist the idea, was not explained. At any rate, he answered: "All right, send him over. I'll see him." My friend hastened to the manager's office. He secured the position and gave very satisfactory service.

God's attitude toward us is beneficent—and unchanging. His supply is always adequate for every human need, and is never withheld. Our access to abundance does not depend upon the whim of a capricious Deity, then; and the fluctuations of our fortunes indicate only that our hold upon the consciousness of bounty is uncertain, or that we are wavering in our obedience to the law.

We must establish ourselves more firmly in the realization of a constant and steady supply to meet every need. We must think and act positively and constructively, accepting the good that is at hand, realizing that it is there even though we may not be conscious of it, and setting about prayerfully and sincerely to find and follow a clearer vision of it.