Talking to god: the basics of prayer

Do you want pray, but don’t know where to begin, or do you sometimes wonder if you’re praying correctly? If so, you are not alone. Many people miss the easy prayer of childhood. Others have never prayed – or never prayed easily and confidently. This guide will help you do both.

How to pray, the basic tenets of prayer:

1.Ready yourself to pray

Readying yourself for prayer means opening your mind, body, and spirit to communication with a higher power. Just as you cannot make a phone call if there is no power to your phone, neither can you pray if you are not connected to the power behind prayer.

One of the easiest ways to make yourself ready for prayer is to simply recognize that you are going to pray. There are many ways to do this. You can announce your intention. You can go to a place that you recognize as holy. You can tell yourself that you are going to pray. But basic recognition is only part of readying yourself for prayer.

It is important to put yourself in a state that allows you to focus on your prayer and the power to which you are praying. Your attention should not wander to secular things as you pray. If you are new to prayer, or if you cannot find the peace that is often necessary for prayer, it is a good idea to practice techniques for focusing your attention before beginning.

Two common focusing techniques are deep breathing and visualization. Take a deep breath. As you inhale, imagine being wrapped in a protective blue light. Hold the breath for five seconds, focusing on nothing else. As you exhale, let the secular world fade into the blue light. Repeat this exercise two to four times before you pray. Once you have become used to praying, simply recognizing that you are going to pray will probably be enough to make you ready.

Of course, there are times when a person’s spirit is open for prayer without any preparation. This often happens in times of great danger or strife, when our conscious being recognizes that we can do nothing on our own. The spirit opens from necessity.

2. Make the prayer personal

Some people pray through song. Some people pray through chant. Some cannot pray unless they choose the words themselves; others need a familiar or ritual prayer. Each of these types of prayer can work. Whichever prayer you use, it is important is to make it personal.

Making a prayer personal does not have to be difficult. By following the first tenet, you’ve already opened yourself for communication. The second tenet requires only that you allow the message you relay to come from you. Make it your own.

If you are praying a prayer with wording and rituals that are used by others, then take those elements into yourself. You must know how the prayer fits into your life. You must figure out what the prayer means to you and why you are praying it. Reciting a prayer by rote is not praying, it is mere recitation. Taking that same prayer and putting yourself, your situation, and your faith behind it, that is prayer.

Choosing your own words and methods of praying may seem personal, however, if you are merely praying in a style that you think best reflects prayer in general, or in a style that mimics something you have seen, be careful. Unless the prayer is also coming through your faith and experiences, you may simply be copying someone else’s idea of prayer rather than actually praying. Copying is not prayer. You must let the prayer flow from you.

To make a prayer personal, no matter what type of prayer it is, you must know how your life, your circumstances and experiences, and your faith are reflected in and affected by that prayer.

3. Elements of prayer

What makes up a prayer? It is communication between you and a higher spirit, and it must come through your faith and life, but what actually goes into a prayer?

There are three major elements of prayer: appreciation, repentance, and requests. Any or all of these elements may be utilized each time you pray.

Appreciation

Many prayers are prayers of thanksgiving. These prayers recognize something that the person praying appreciates or is in awe of. They are often offered in gratitude for help given in response to a previous prayer, or for help that was given freely, without prayer. These prayers honor the higher being.

Repentance

Other prayers seek forgiveness. Often, when a person has done something that he or she believes has violated moral or spiritual law, that person prays to be forgiven. The prayer is likely to express remorse for the transgression and a promise to refrain from the offending behavior in the future. Absolution and atonement are often asked for. These prayers recognize the mercy of the higher being.

Requests

Many prayers ask for help, either for the one who is praying or on behalf of another. There are many types of requests. Common ones include asking for strength to get through a personal trial, seeking protection from a menace or danger, and requests for spiritual guidance, physical health, and the ability to forgive oneself and others. These prayers recognize the power of the higher being.

4. Facilitation of prayer

Similar to readying yourself for prayer, there are certain things that are required if you want your prayer to be effective. The most important of these is faith. In order for your prayer to work you must believe in both the power of prayer, and in the power to which you pray. Prayer should be offered out of reverence for this higher being.

Almost as important as faith is the purpose behind the prayer. Your purpose should be pure and should come from a place of love. Faith, reverence, purity of purpose, and love are essential elements to a successful prayer.

5. Hindrances to prayer

Just as there are elements that are vital in the facilitation of prayer, there are other elements that will obstruct a prayer. Many seeming prayers are really selfish pleas, often for material goods. These pleas are not prayers at all. To be a prayer, it cannot be offered for mercenary purposes.

Nor can a prayer be offered with the intent to harm another. The desire to inflict misfortune on your enemies (or friends) is in diametric opposition to prayer. Any type of selfish motivation will keep you from being able to open the channel of communication between you and the higher spirit to which you wish to pray.