The Fifty Miracle Principles of A Course in Miracles
by Kenneth Wapnick
 

Principle 45

A miracle is never lost. It may touch many people you have not even met, and 
produce undreamed of changes in situations of which you are not even aware.

This is similar to Principle 35. Think of the model of the hologram where we are all joined, and all the dimensions of time and space are in one part. There is no way that we could ever judge the power of what it means to let go of our grievances or to let go of our beliefs in separation. "When I am healed I am not healed alone" (workbook, p. 254; W-pI.137), as we have already seen. This can have effects, not only on people physically here, but on people who have already died. Time is not linear, and we are joined in one mind as in the hologram, regardless of the particular dimension of time and space we believe we or others are in.

Again, the only thing A Course in Miracles asks of us is to accept the Atonement for ourselves, which means to do our part in having our minds be healed of these thoughts. The extension of that miracle -- Atonement or forgiveness -- is not our concern, because we would have no idea of what is truly helpful. Our only responsibility -- to accept the Atonement for ourselves -- is to choose forgiveness or the miracle.

Q: What about intercessory prayer? How does that fit in?

A: It does not, at least not in the usual way of thinking about it. First, God does not have to be told what to do; it is simply insane to believe that. Second, and even more important, as I mentioned earlier, once we pray for others, we are saying there is a problem out there, and then we are right back in the ego's trap. We do not pray for others, we pray for ourselves -- that our minds, which believed there was a form of darkness outside, be healed. The early sections of "The Song of Prayer" state this very clearly. We pray really for help to get ourselves out of the way, so that the Holy Spirit can extend through our mind to other minds.