No, I haven’t won the lotto—or not yet. But is it possible to really pray hard and manifest winning the lotto? How?

My friend DM, almost 80, boasts that in his younger years he won five of the six-digit lotto combination at least thrice. He claims that he did it through the prayer and meditative visualization technique.

So ask yourself: How can we pray and manifest awesome miracles, like winning the lotto?

For us believers, we can postulate that miracles indeed happen because of God’s supernatural power and loving consent. In other words, God is the source or cause of miracles—complemented, of course, by human supplication, or prayer, and cooperation.

In a sense, miracles do happen because it is an act of God’s grace or a blessing, and it is precipitated by the individual’s fervent asking and belief for the fulfilment or answer to his/her prayer or longing.

Therefore, two important questions need to be answered: how we can deserve God’s grace, favor, or blessing, and how we can manifest our longings, or make our prayers effective.

On the first question, it can be said that we can be deserving of God’s blessing or favor by trying to understand the beneficial reasons, or “purposes,” of miracles—namely: 1) as stipulated by the Church’s teachings, miracles signify or bring about God’s glory, or to use the Latin phrase, “ad maiorem Dei gloriam” (for the better glory of God); 2) miracles benefit not only the individual petitioner but also others, or the community: and 3) miracles induce one who is blessed to become a blessing to others, too.

Needless to say, if the resultant effect of what we’re praying for resonates to these beneficial “reasons or purposes,” then it can be affirmed that we deserve God’s favor or miracle. It is interesting to observe, however, that with regard to the third purpose (being blessed to be a blessing to others), there are those who pray and make big compensatory promises before God to be done once their petitions, like winning the lotto, are granted. But after their prayers are answered, they rejoice on the blessings, forget being a blessing to others, and leave behind their promises as well.

Let’s proceed to the second question: How can we make our prayers effective?

Our answer is twofold: firstly, by believing; and secondly, through prayer and contemplation. 

True believing—the one that can make miracles happen—involves our whole being. It is a firm, deep-seated, positive conviction that powers our very fiber. True believing is believing with all our mind, heart and soul.

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus told us that “if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can say to a mountain to move from here to there.” Such is the immense power of faith, of believing: It comes from the heart.

Lastly, still, how can we make our prayers effective? 

Mystics and contemplatives affirm that prayer is not just asking or lifting to God our petitions but, more importantly, it is confidently believing in, claiming, and being grateful for God’s loving response, favor, or blessing. In other words, effective praying is trusting, claiming or manifesting (not just imagining or daydreaming) as if your prayer is already answered, and, thus, being grateful for God’s favor or blessing.

Mystics further suggest that contemplating is more powerful than just praying. Contemplation is not just praying or talking to God; it is listening to and embracing the presence of God. While praying or talking to God involves the element of “control” on the part of the one praying, contemplating is just being present and relishing God’s encompassing presence. Such sublime or sacred presence exudes overwhelming peace, love, enlightenment, gratitude, and abundance—this is one glorious moment of God’s miracle!

Peace ye! Prayerful wishes for your winning the lotto!