Prayer – A Source of Comfort and Miracles

Prayer has been a part of spiritual worship since the beginning of time. What  is prayer? I like to think of it as a conversation with god. As with any  conversation, it shouldn’t be one-sided. There are times that we are speaking  and there are times that we are listening. Many times, we forget about the  listening part. It can be difficult to determine when we are actually hearing  the voice of the Divine as opposed to the some other voice such as our Ego.

This is a very basic model and probably not entirely inclusive, but I think  there are four basic formats of prayer. These are as follows:

1. Formal

These are the prayers that are part of every organized religion. The Salaat  of Islam, the Our Father of Christianity, the formalized Shabat ritual of  Judaism. These prayers are suffused with an eternal power and strength from  long-use by countless generations. The repetition of them, both by the  individual and the communities that perform them, creates a vibrational  resonance that creates comfort and performs miracles.

2. Conversational

These are the prayers in which we talk to God. Many times we are asking for  something that we want – either for ourselves or for others. Sometimes these are  known as intercessory (asking for something for others) or petitional (asking  for something for ourselves). Many times they are prayers of Thanksgiving and  gratitude for our many blessings. Sometimes they are prayers asking for guidance  to do the right thing in a particular situation. They are just as the name  conveys, conversations with the Divine, the source of ourselves and all that  is.

3. Centering

This is a style of prayer that is common in almost every religion and  spiritual practice. Usually it is a meditative-type prayer in which a word is  repeated over and over again either silently or aloud. In Sufism, this is called  Remembrance and it is the name of God, “Allah” that is repeated or “La ilaha  ilallah” – meaning there is no God but God. In the Christian form of Centering  prayer, it can be any word of your choosing. The purpose of this type of prayer  is to clear all of our mundane thoughts and keep focusing on God, Allah, the  Divine. It is a very calming sort of prayer. Wayne Dyer mentions that the “AH”  sound is the sound of the Creator, hence, all of the names for God in various  religions or sacred sounds of various spiritual paths have this sound in them.  For example, “ohm”, “Allah”, “God”,”Yahweh”, etc.

4. Listening

This one is more complex but just as, if not more, important than the others.  In the other forms of prayer we are communicating or focusing our intentions on  something. However, at some point in the “conversation” we need to remember to  step back and listen. This can be done in a myriad of ways including silent  meditation, mindfulness practices, journaling, dreamwork. Many of us get those  flashes from that still, small voice at the least likely moments, such as in the  shower or driving to work!

All of these types of prayer serve different functions. I like to incorporate  all of them in my daily spiritual practices. It is much like working out your  body. You need to do exercises that are cardiovascular in nature to increase  your endurance and heart strength, you need to do weight-bearing exercises to  keep your muscles strong and you need to do stretching exercises to remain  flexible. Some of these types come easier to some of us than others and yet,  they are all important.

See if you can commit to a week of doing at least 5 minutes of each of Formal  and Centering prayer; and intersperse Conversational and Listening forms  throughout your day. You can set a timer a certain period of time to remind  yourself to step back and have a conversation with your Divine source.

Of course, don’t be hard on yourself if you find even these few minutes a day  difficult. Just remember the words of Meister Eckhart, “If the only prayer you  ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”