The Power Of Prayer Which Changes Everything

• Prayer is a means of communication between God and humans.
• Prayer is a meeting, a relationship with the Other - with God.
• Prayer is an expression of our homage, thanksgiving and our surrender to God.
• Prayer is a silent, mutual looking, listening and resting in God.
• Prayer is selfless love and devotion to our Creator, Sustainer and Provider.
• Prayer is standing in the presence of God in total attention and purity of heart.
There is no one way of praying. Some uses a book of prayers to articulate their inner sentiments or chant Bhajans or mantras or Psalms; some make petition for various needs for themselves or others in the world, family, neighborhood, etc; some prefer silence and stillness to enter within themselves where God dwells while there are other who prefer to dance and sing with music in praise of God. Whatever method one choose, we can be sure that God who loves his children will be pleased to receive their adoration and supplication. However, what is essential to prayer is that our heart goes with our words. As Shakespeare says in OTHELLO:

My words go up to heaven,
My thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts (heart),
Never to heaven go.
There must be a spiritual reality in prayer. Prayer is not some magical formulae or mere repetition of words. Prayer to be real must be a communication between the person and God.

There is no fixed time for prayer. We are exhorted to prayer always. But mornings and evenings are quiet times suitable for prayer. It is desirable to pray before we undertake any task as well as before meals, study, journey, in times of stress and anxiety, celebration and in times of sorrow. ' Meditation ' is a special form of prayer, which is physically and spiritually restorative and enriching to daily life.

The right approach to prayer is one of a child drawing near to the Father/Mother with perfect simplicity and utter confidence and love. Vedas speak of Bhakti - love and devotion, a spiritual ' sharing ' and ' giving ', which presupposes nothing but a love - relationship with the divine.

We cannot teach ourselves or other to pray because prayer is a gift from God.
Methods of Prayer:
(a) Meditating on the Scriptures: The following steps will facilitate this form of Prayer:
Sravana : Listening to the Word after reading it slowly one or more times.
Manana: Assimilating the Word through reflection and repetition.
Nidhidhyasana: Interiorisation. This consists in the application of the message to life.
Samadhi: Deep peace, serenity and communion with the Divine from the heart.
End with self - surrender and adoration.
(b) Prayer of Petition: It consists of a group or individual bringing before God their needs, the needs of others, the needs of the world at large, etc.

(c) Nature Meditation: It is a way of receiving inspirations from nature as well as meeting God through His creation. This meditation gets added depth when we share our reflections with others or give expression to them in prose, poetry or song.

(d) Prayer of Fantasy: This is a method that refreshes and strengthen you inwardly.
The goal of Prayer is union with God or friendship with God. It is a never - ending joy in God through nirvana, mukti or moksha. Prayer is not something apart from life. Prayer must keep us in touch with life, to allow ourselves to be affected by what is going on in and around us. It must help us to respond to it from deeper levels within us. Prayer must strengthen us to meet God in any situation, at anytime or place. Prayer must keep us in touch with our deeper selves. A praying person makes each moment of the day an unspoken prayer for the suffering of our broken world.