Prayer is an act of glorifying God, either by chanting His name or by singing His glory. Prayer is when we offer flowers and incense sticks and theeba arathi while ringing the holy bell. Prayer is when we press our palms together in humble recognition of how insignificant we are in front of God’s enormous creations. Prayer is when we close our eyes and meditate on the omnipresent presence we have all been thought to revere and respect. Prayer is when, head bent, we silently tell God our problems, hopes and state our gratitude.
Prayer is motivation.
Picture this. A student is determined to achieve straight A’s in his examination. After doing all the necessary studying and preparations, he spends a couple of minutes in a day telling God, while in prayer, to ‘help’ him achieve his goal. The student tells God, “Please help me achieve all A’s, Lord Muruga.” And he repeats this everyday. This goal becomes in-grained in his mind and he will eventually attain his goal. As the saying goes, the mind conceives the actions we do.
Now paint another picture. At the starting line, seconds before the gun is shot, there is silence. And the world class athlete tells herself, “I’m wearing the gold medal”. She’s motivating herself, but actually what she is subconsciously doing, is praying.
“The rite of a simple prayer was created to put our minds into a state of utter concentration“
When someone prays, that is, repeats his goals/ ambitions/ hopes in a state of utter concentration, it is believed that the positive vibrations created out of positive thought will travel to a future time and place when that goal should be achieved. Vibrations are energy and energy cannot be destroyed. When a prayer is repeated over and over again, the positive vibes will return to the person praying or who is being prayed for, infusing them with hope and determination, and thus making the goal or hope a reality.
That’s why when you pray for the well being of someone who is thousands of miles away, the prayer actually takes effect. The positive energy from your thoughts will travel to the intended destination.
The rite of a simple prayer was created to put our minds into a state of utter concentration. This is normally the best time to motivate yourself - some people call this meditation - but in reality again, meditation is also an act of repeating to yourself your goals and invoking positive energy to enter your being.
Prayer is also a reminder that we are not alone in this universe, and there’s a solution to every problem.
Here’s an extract from a story I once read. A man who seldom prayed was dying from cancer. The day before his death, the doctor sat at his bedside. The dying man knew he had little time left and he chose his words carefully, speaking in a hoarse whisper. He revealed to the doctor that recently he had begun to pray frequently. "What do you pray for?" the doctor asked gently. "I don't pray for anything, Doctor," he responded, "How would I know what to ask for?" The doctor was surprised. Surely this dying man could think of some request. "If prayer is not for asking, then what is it for?” the doctor asked him. "It isn't 'for' anything," the dying man said. "It reminds me I am not alone. And I find magnanimous strength in that thought alone." ■
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