Question: Lately I've read many things about the power of positive thinking. If you really want something, should you say, "Supreme, make it happen if it is Thy Will," or should you affirm, "This will happen"?

Sri Chinmoy: We have to know if it is something connected with desire. First you will say, “Supreme, give me two hundred dollars.” This most sincere desire you offer to God. Then in your mind you may say, “What will the Supreme think of me? I am supposed to say, ‘Let Thy Will be done’.” When you prayed for two hundred dollars, at that time your desire was so intense, so sincere. But when you said, “Let Thy Will be done,” that prayer became meaningless. It was only by rote that you were saying it. It was all in the mental plane. God knows when you are playing tricks and where your sincerity lies. At that time He will give you zero because He is seeing that when you say “Your Will,” it is just a joke.