A rabbi had a near-death experience but came back with a message and perspective on prayer that runs counter to what we have learned is Empowered Prayer here at GetWisdom. His message was that people spent too much time in petition prayer, and not enough time in praise and glorification prayer. This suggests that whoever he had his near-death experience with, was not in fact divine. Did he in fact have a near-death experience? Did interlopers assist him back or did the divine, or was any assistance necessary, or was it simply his deep subconscious beliefs creating the experience for him? Can interlopers hijack a near-death experience?

The rabbi in question did not encounter evil and come back with a programmed deception to spend all one’s time for the glory of God and ignore the self and one’s own personal needs. That would, indeed, be a bias and a distortion of divine thought because what we desire is to have a partnership with each and every individual, such that we walk side by side and we support and assist one another. So to have a lopsided relationship when a human believes they must worship, worship, worship to the neglect of the self would, in fact, be non-divine because it violates an important precept, that all human beings have a responsibility for the care and feeding of their own soul and should only give to others what will not take away from themselves and cause harm. But in the case of the rabbi, this was his own interpretation of the near-death experience and the further awakening he underwent. Because of his religious training and having the orientation that it is one’s duty to praise and worship the Lord, coming face to face with beings from the divine realm and feeling the divinity radiating from them, was raised up and inspired further, and that increased fervor ramped up his innate passion to be a worshiper—truly a product of his training. So this is simply a personal impression and the experiencing and his reaction to it, that he became such a champion of worshiping the divine. For one thing, he was not fully understanding the role he played in having the experience in the first place that returned him to be among the living. That was not a unilateral act and decision on the part of the divine to spare him and return him to life, it was a divine blessing but given as a consequence of prayers he had made previously for his own welfare, wanting to be closer to God and to be more effective as a representative. So those very prayers that enabled his rescue truly had nothing to do with worship or glorification of the Almighty, but a request to the divine for his own welfare, growth, and learning. So that very reality flies in the face of how he came to interpret what happened to him and the reasons why. This is somewhat unfortunate because there is an excess of worship going on in the face of tremendous human suffering, and people could do well to honor themselves more by requesting divine help. It is all well and good to express gratitude, thankfulness for divine oversight for one’s existence, and even for the blessings they enjoy. After all, everything traces back to the creation, people included. So it is not we are unappreciative of the devout and dutiful, we see it as an imbalance when that is all one does on behalf of their faith. There are many more good works you can arrange to happen by asking for assistance for yourself, loved ones, and all others who suffer. After all, we know who we are and truly need no one to worship us. That is the desire of tyrants who are either exalting their own ego, or perhaps insecure about their hold on power and demand a visible demonstration that at once reassures them of your obedience, but also disempowers you to believe it is only that mighty being who can act and get things done, and otherwise you are helpless because there is nowhere else to turn. When you pray for deliverance from your suffering, for assistance in a better understanding of what is needed, what path might be better for you, how to overcome obstacles and suffering, you are honoring your soul and your worth as a soul-based being because you are requesting a partnership with the divine, and that is the highest attainment a soul-based being can enjoy. It is possible for interlopers to hijack a near-death experience. After all, at the moment of death of the body and the spirit departing, for some period of time the body might well be saved through prompt medical intervention, perhaps put on life support while some appropriate treatments are administered to sustain things while there is enough healing so the body could return to function on its own and still be a home to that departed spirit. It is up to that spirit making its way to navigate. Light callers will be sent from the light but they may not be seen by that lost soul human spirit, who might be in a state of dishevelment and too low a vibration still, to have any awareness of higher possibilities and will, in effect, be tumbling in the darkness, disorientated, and alone. In such a state, all are vulnerable and their spirit can be commandeered and sequestered and used as a source of fuel for low-level demonic spirits. This is certainly no fate you want to have. The key is to look to the Almighty when it is time for your passing, or if you have a sense one day, everything has gone wrong at once, and if you consider the fact you might have actually had a death of the body and are now alone with your consciousness and have the presence of mind to reach for the divine light, your wish will be granted. So this speaks to the benefit of gaining a working knowledge of such things so you are prepared for any contingency.