Prayer
“Prayer is a two-way communication with God,
More important than talking, it is listening to our Lord.”
Why do people Pray? People pray primarily for two reasons. First, as an appeal to God to solve their problems. Second, they call out to God to fulfill their dreams and wishes. There are a few people who pray out of gratitude, and still fewer who express their love for God through prayer. Nevertheless, a large majority of the world prays to God, some every day and many once a week.
While so many of us pray, not many of us try to understand what prayer truly is. Most of us think that it is just talking to God. Therefore, we do not remain silent in order to listen to God's voice. Effective prayer is a two-way communication.
What does prayer demonstrate? It shows our faith in God. We pray because we believe that God will fulfill whatever we ask in prayer. In fact, most people grow in faith as they see their prayers being answered.
There are different types of prayer. The first level of prayer and the most common one is the prayer that takes us to our religious institution or to the altar in our homes and involves body and mind. The second type of prayer is a prayer that just involves our voice. It is singing of hymns, mantras, bhajans or qawwalis, as the case may be. The body may be still, but the mind and the voice are connected to God. However, the most effective form of prayer is said to be prayer in silence. It is shutting off the body and mind from the world and contemplating God. This prayer is said to be the most difficult and the most effective form of prayer. It doesn't matter what type of prayer we perform as long as we genuinely connect with God in our prayers.
Unfortunately, a large chunk of humanity does not understand the true meaning of prayer. People usually just follow certain rituals and superstitions, and the more complicated the rituals seem to be, the more convinced people are about the efficacy of the prayer. This, however, is not true! We must know what we say when we pray. If we don't, then, we actually don't pray, we just bray!
True prayer is the second step on the Ladder to Heaven. While the first step is believing in God, it is not enough just to believe. We must communicate our feelings to God. Does God listen to our prayers? Of course, he does! As long as our prayers are sincere and genuine, they catch the attention of theAlmighty and he answers our prayers.
And then there are times when prayer becomes the first step and belief follows. A young child doesn't know why he is praying, but it’s these very prayers that can lead the child to become a believer.
In the world today, there is a lot of drama regarding prayers. Every religion tries to proclaim that its prayers are most powerful, just as their God is! Instead of people respecting each other's religion, prayers have become competitive, with each community trying to evangelize and convert people to follow their theology and join them in praying to their God. This type of prayer is not what we are referring to. Prayers that take us forward in our journey to God are genuine, heartfelt expressions of our love for God. We share everything with our God when we communicate in prayer. Very few people are lucky to stop and find out whom they are actually praying to. They are the ones whose prayers are most effective. It is these people who climb the Ladder to Heaven because effective prayer makes them grow in their faith and belief in God.
If prayer is just a formality and rituals are followed just out of habit, it may not take us upward and Godward. It is only when we pray because of our staunch belief and our unconditional faith, that we will progress on the journey towards the Divine.
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If we Pray, but we don’t know what we say,
Then we don’t Pray, we just bray!
Prayer
TAKEAWAYS