Chapter 5
Prayer
What is Prayer? Is it the chanting of hymns, going to a temple, church or mosque, meditating, talking to God or listening to God? Let us explore more. Different people have different comprehension of what they consider as prayer. Those who believe that God is a statue, pray to it. They even touch and hug the statue as if they are actually touching God. But is God actually in that statue? Does praying to that idol mean anything?
True Prayer is connecting with God, communicating with God and talking with God. It is surrendering one's entire self wholeheartedly without manipulation or concealment of anything.
Those who do not understand who God is and where God is do not understand the true meaning of prayer as well. They think that the only way to pray is to go to a religious place like a temple or a church. But is that correct?
While temples, churches and idols do symbolize God and inspire us to think and pray; God does not dwell only inside the walls of these buildings. God is present everywhere. The supreme Power expresses itself through all the creations on this Earth and therefore we can see God in the sun, moon, stars, birds, animals and flowers. We can experience God in all his creations.
So, what is true Prayer? True prayer means believing and accepting God. It is living with Faith, Hope, Enthusiasm, Trust and Belief. It is living in the ever presence of our Master, our Creator. In whatever form we may see God, prayer is about communicating, talking and expressing ourselves in front of God. It also means to wait in silence for an answer from God, and the answers always come. True prayer is being connected; at all times to the Power we call God.
We may visualize God as Lord Shiva, Jesus Christ, Allah, Rama, Krishna or Buddha. It doesn't matter how we think of God. Prayer is being able to acknowledge God through these forms and then communicating with love and devotion.
There are no rules for Prayer. There is no fixed time for Prayer. Some people believe that God is available only for certain hours and only during certain days. But, God is available all the time, on all the days. The Power we call God is omnipresent, always waiting for us to connect. Those who pray with their true heart, concentration, faith and devotion are able to connect with the Power we call God and communicate well. When a strong link is established through Prayer, one can receive messages and signals from the Power; through one's superconscious.
The superconscious gets activated after one transcends and reaches the peak of Faith and Belief. At this stage, the superconscious starts vibrating at a frequency at which it can communicate with the Power. It then receives a reply from the Universal Power through a voice or an earthly circumstance that can be an indication. Sometimes, the superconscious receives God's message through imagination, intuition, sixth sense or hunches; like a spark that comes from nowhere. Only those who believe and have Faith, Hope, Enthusiasm, Trust and Belief can experience this. This is because if you don't believe, your superconscious is switched off and is incapable of receiving signals from the Universal Power; just like a mobile phone when switched off is incapable of receiving or sending signals.
Prayer is also a process of thanking God. It can be practiced by repeating a mantra (a sound representation of God), by a shloka (verses in praise of God) or by taking the name of God. Prayer can be performed on any day, at any time and at any place. While it is advisable to pray in a silent place; praying in front of an idol or at a religious place of worship also yields results as it helps in focusing. An idol or a religious destination creates an environment of peace, which helps one to concentrate upon prayer and avoid getting distracted.
Prayer works! Ask those who have used Prayer to connect with God and you will realize that Prayer actually works. Do you pray? Do you communicate with the power called God? Do you have Faith? Do you believe in the Power we call God? If you don't believe in the Power, then how can you experience God?
Essence of the chapter:
• We Pray to connect, communicate and talk with God.
• God does not dwell just in Temples, Churches or Mosques or even in Idols.
• God is omnipresent.
• Tr u e p raye r i s a c c e p t i n g a n d believing i n G