Have you ever repeated a "money affirmation" for a few days, only to hear a cold little voice inside answer back, "No you don't — who do you think you're fooling?" In that moment it's easy to decide the problem is you: your faith isn't strong enough, you're doing it wrong. But more often than not, you aren't failing at belief. You're using the wrong sentence.
Joseph Murphy worked all of this out decades ago in his book Think Yourself Rich. It's also, in a quiet way, where Universe Bella began — the very first videos grew out of this one book. So in this piece I want to walk you through the single most important money prayer in it, and the actual method for saying it so that it lands, all in plain language you can put to use before you fall asleep tonight.
What a Money Prayer Actually Is — and Why Most People's Don't Work
A money prayer is a line you say to yourself (or, if you hold a faith, to whatever larger power you trust) on repeat, not to beg money to drop out of the sky, but to slowly rewrite the default beliefs your subconscious holds about money. Murphy called this kind of practice "scientific prayer." The word "scientific" here isn't about religion at all — it points to a simple principle: what matters is not the words your mouth forms, but what you genuinely believe on the inside.
Murphy used an image that's easy to hold onto. Your subconscious, he said, is like a bank, and like a plot of soil. Whatever you deposit, whatever you plant, it faithfully multiplies and hands back to you — with no editing and no judgment. If you spend your days feeling "money is hard, there's never enough," you are, in effect, depositing scarcity every single day, and it loyally grows you more of the same. So the real question was never "do money prayers work?" It's this: what are you actually depositing into your subconscious each day — abundance, or lack?
And that is exactly why most people's money prayers fall flat. Their mouth says "I am wealthy" while the heart snaps back "no I'm not." That mismatch between mouth and gut, Murphy argued, isn't just useless — it works against you, because the signal you truly send out is the one underneath: the feeling of not having.
The Most Important Line in the Book
Murphy noticed that the second many people say "I am rich, I have plenty of money," something inside instantly calls it a lie. The conscious mind vetoes the claim, and all the sentence really does is spotlight what you don't have right now. His solution was disarmingly clever: swap in a sentence your mind has no grounds to argue with. The one he recommended most, especially at bedtime, was this:
"By day and by night I am being prospered in all of my interests."
Feel for a second how neatly this is built. It never claims "I am already a wealthy person" (which would pick a fight with your current reality). It says you are being prospered — something in progress, gradually unfolding. Your conscious mind can't refute it, because who can promise tomorrow won't be a little better than today? When the mind stops arguing, the sentence slips quietly into the subconscious, where it's accepted and multiplied. That is the master key to Murphy's whole method: don't debate with your own subconscious.
If you remember nothing else from this article, remember that one line. Say it softly a few times before you sleep, carrying the steady sense that things are slowly turning in your favor, and you've already begun.
Why Forcing "I Am Rich" Can Backfire
This deserves a closer look, because it's the pitfall most people stumble into. Murphy insisted that the subconscious accepts your conviction and felt certainty — not the words you happen to recite. When you say something that sits too far from your lived reality, an inner resistance kicks in (psychology calls it cognitive dissonance), and you can't help but "explain it away," gathering evidence that it's false. The net result: you weren't depositing abundance at all. You were confirming scarcity, one repetition at a time.
So Murphy's rule was to choose a sentence you can actually believe. "I am being prospered" — you can believe that. "My income is steadily increasing" — believable. "Money is flowing through my life" — believable. Start with lines that don't trigger an inner quarrel, and once the subconscious loosens and you genuinely begin to feel abundant, then you can build upward. Murphy put it bluntly: the feeling of wealth produces wealth. Growing that feeling first matters a hundred times more than shouting a slogan you don't buy. If you want to understand why the subconscious hits the brakes in the first place — and how to spot where you're stuck — this breakdown of the subconscious mind goes deeper.
The Bedtime "Wealth" Lullaby: Murphy's Golden Window
One piece of timing comes up again and again across the book: the few minutes just before you fall asleep. As you relax, your brain waves slow, and in that drowsy, half-awake state your conscious guard is at its lowest and the door to the subconscious stands widest open. A thought planted here keeps working through the whole night's sleep.
Murphy taught a technique so simple it almost feels like nothing. Once you're lying down, quietly and easily — and with feeling — repeat the single word "wealth" over and over, slowly, the way you'd hum a lullaby to settle yourself: "wealth… wealth…" and let it carry you into sleep. You can also pair two words, like "wealth and success, wealth and success." No effort, no checking whether "it's working" — just let the thought keep you company as you drift off, the way a tune does. This principle of talking to the subconscious right before sleep runs underneath a surprising number of manifestation methods; if you'd like to use those last ten minutes of the day more fully, here's a detailed guide to bedtime manifestation.
Murphy's Longer Money Prayers (Read Them As They Are)
Beyond the short line, the book also offers fuller money prayers. Here's one of the most classic passages, gently adapted — you might read it once in the morning and once at night:
"The Infinite (or: Life, the Universe, God) is the source of my supply. Wealth flows to me freely, generously, and endlessly. At every moment and in every place, all my financial needs are met, and there is always a rich surplus in my life. For this I am deeply grateful."
And here's a shorter one Murphy loved, about your relationship with money — well suited to a quiet daytime repetition:
"I like money. I use it wisely, constructively, and with care. I release it with joy, and it returns to me multiplied. Money is circulating freely in my life, and there is always a divine surplus."
Notice that none of these are pleading for money. They're building a healthy, flowing, mutually trusting relationship between you and money. That was Murphy's whole point: mend the relationship first, and money is both easier to attract and easier to keep. If you'd like a more systematic set of lines for resetting old money beliefs, pair this with this collection of wealth affirmations and how to use them properly.
The Full Practice: Murphy's Four Steps, Across One Day
Gather the methods scattered through the book and they really come down to four steps. You don't have to do all of them — start with whatever you can carry.
One — affirmative prayer (present tense, felt, and steady). Pick a line you can believe ("I am being prospered," say). Don't use the future tense of "someday I'll have money"; use the ongoing present — "I am being" — and say it with genuine feeling rather than reciting by rote.
Two — visualize from the ending, as if it's already real. Close your eyes and imagine the money, the life, as an accomplished fact: where you are, what you're doing, who's beside you, how your body feels. Bring in as many senses as you can; the more concrete, the better. The trick is to feel back from the finished scene, not to hope forward toward it.
Three — believe with emotion (let gratitude and joy arrive first). Murphy was firm on this: don't chase it with anxiety and fear, because that only broadcasts lack. Cultivate instead a kind of calm certainty — as though you already know it's coming, so you're at ease, even grateful in advance. That "already have it" feeling is the thing actually speaking to your subconscious. Neville Goddard's Law of Assumption describes the same move: move into the feeling of the wish fulfilled, and live there.
Four — repeat, and mind the timing (on waking, through the day, and above all at bedtime). Spend a minute or two just after you wake, in an easy gap during the day, and in the last moments before sleep. That final session matters most — use the "wealth" lullaby and take the thought into sleep with you. Consistency is the only real secret here.
Three of the Most Common Mistakes
1. Saying a line you flatly don't believe. This is mistake number one. Rather than shouting "I am a millionaire" while your insides roll their eyes, say "my finances are improving day by day." If you can believe it, you can bank it.
2. Praying without acting. Murphy's method calibrates the inner world; it doesn't replace the outer one. When the subconscious loosens, you tend to speak up more readily, notice opportunities you'd have missed, and feel more willing to move — the prayer gets you moving and seeing; the actual money still comes through action.
3. Finishing the prayer, then anxiously watching for results. That hyper-vigilant watching is itself the feeling of "I still don't have it." Say the words, then let go — go about your days with the quiet certainty that "it's on its way," and paradoxically it tends to arrive sooner.
What Universe Bella Wants You to Know
First, to be clear: Universe Bella is not a religion, and it doesn't belong to any group. Murphy himself was a minister in the New Thought tradition, so his original text often uses the word "God." If you hold a faith, that word will feel natural to you; if you don't, there's no need to get stuck on it — swap in "the Universe," "Life," "the infinite intelligence within," or any word you're comfortable with. What's actually at work was never a particular name. It's the belief you carry inside.
And honestly: this is a practice of thought and belief, not a magic guarantee of getting rich, and it's no substitute for real effort or sensible money management. Where it genuinely helps is in loosening the old setting — "there's no way I could have money" — that's kept you bound for years, so you act with more nerve, more steadiness, more ease. Keep it in its proper place, as a way of tuning the inner world alongside action, and it will serve you. That's what Bella has most wanted to pass on all along: tend the soil inside you first, and abundance grows of its own accord. If you'd like to add an Eastern-tradition angle, you might also look at the Five Wealth Gods mantra — its emphasis on giving and a circle of goodwill rhymes, in spirit, with Murphy's "release money with joy, and it returns."
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the book Think Yourself Rich actually about?
It's Joseph Murphy's study of how to grow wealthy through the subconscious mind. The core idea is that real wealth lives first in your subconscious: what you genuinely believe and feel to be true gradually shows up in your life. Across many methods and examples, the book teaches you to press "abundance" deep into the subconscious through prayer, affirmation, and visualization.
How many times a day should I say a money prayer, and when is best?
Murphy pointed to three windows: just after waking, during an easy moment in the day, and — most important — right before sleep. Bedtime is the golden window, when the subconscious is least guarded and most receptive. More important than the count is whether you say it with feeling and real belief. Once said with quiet certainty beats ten times recited on autopilot.
Saying "I am rich" feels fake and my mind keeps rejecting it — what do I do?
This is exactly the trap Murphy flagged. Forcing a line too far from your reality triggers inner resistance, and you end up confirming "I don't have it." The fix is to switch to a gradual sentence you can believe, like "I am being prospered" or "my income is steadily increasing." Once the subconscious eases and you genuinely grow the feeling of abundance, you can build up from there.
Is there any scientific basis for this method?
To be honest about it: Murphy's "scientific prayer" is a practice of thought rooted in the New Thought tradition — it isn't peer-reviewed medical or physical evidence. That said, several of its principles — avoiding inner conflict, using a sentence you can actually believe, repeating a thought while relaxed — do echo what psychology discusses around autosuggestion and cognitive dissonance. Treating it as a tool for adjusting mindset and belief, rather than a guaranteed formula for getting rich, comes closest to where it can really help.
If I only say the prayer and do nothing else, will money come?
No. Murphy's method is "align the inner world first, and action follows naturally." When the old scarcity belief loosens, you'll find yourself bolder about asking, quicker to spot opportunities, more willing to offer real value — and money comes through those actions. The prayer lights the fire; you still have to walk the road.