Power of prayer
in meditation

In meditation is where the power of prayer can be experienced, again and again.

The prayers that are non religious, authentic and real are the prayers that unite us and move us most.

Prayer is often referred to as Talking to God. And no matter what your background, culture or believe we all have a need to reach out to divine:

Airplane crash survivors say: "We all started praying, believers and non-believers alike!"

Truth about prayer

So let's move some concepts and believes about prayer out of the way so that the power of prayer can be experienced:

You do not need to believe or be religious in order to pray
We can pray with words or we can pray without any words
It is our most immediate tool to find our way to the truth
It works the instant we start praying; the response is immediate.
There are no conditions that would inhibit prayer.
Prayer is not limited by a situation or an activity.
There is no prayer that is not heard.
We can be moving and receive the benefits of prayer during any emotional or mental state.

I love the way Gandhi stated his thought on prayer:

"It is better in prayer to have a heart without words

than words without a heart”

Benedictine brother David Steindl-Rast spoke about prayer and mentions that some people have their most authentic experience of prayer precisely when they are not saying prayers.

Soulful = real & authentic prayer

Soulful praying happens when prayer is real, not phony. The prayers have to be authentic. And this happens when our minds and hearts are open. Sometimes real and authentic prayer happens right away. Sometimes we have to really work for it; to open the heart, to let go of any concepts of believes, to move the fear.

Matters of the heart are very much connected to the people around us. Henri J.M Nouwen said is wisely:

"You must make the connection between prayer and life.

The closer you are to the heart of God,

the closer you come to the heart of the world,

the closer you come to others.”

Ghandi spoke so beautifully about prayer and the reason why we need prayer and specifically how we need to count on the power of prayer.

"We are born to serve our fellow man, and we cannot properly do so unless we are wide awake. There is an eternal struggle raging in man’s breast between the powers of darkness and of light, and he who has not the sheet-anchor of prayer to rely upon will be a victim to the powers of darkness. The man of prayer will be at peace with himself and the whole world.

Take care of the vital thing and other things will care of themselves.

Begin therefore your day with prayer, and make it so soulful that it may remain with you until the evening".

I start my day engaging the power of prayer

Prayer is the center of my day to day living. It is through praying that all what I do, say and experience receives meaning. Without prayer my life in this material existence would just be that...material...which is empty, flat, limited and lacks fulfillment and meaning. It is like my prayers breathe meaning and value into everything I do and experience. It is how God becomes the center of my life, and then magically everything else lines up in a perfect way.

I meditate every morning to start my day. In this specific meditation my most important goal is to get connected and find my prayer for the day. The prayer that moves my soul and has me feel deeply grateful and looking forward to start my day. In this prayer I feel my personal relationship with God and my destiny in Him. It is a very big feeling and does not always contain words. Sometimes it is just an immense feeling of gratitude.

If I miss my meditation time in the morning my day feels different. I feel at times heavier, things do not flow with so much ease, I do not feel upheld like I used to and I seem to be less at the right moment at the right time.

I love to read the prayers of the great saints and masters. They inspire me to find and form my own prayers. I gathered some of my most favorite ones on: Meditation prayers.

An exercise to learn about the power of prayer

At one time in my life I received the following exercise from a teacher. I practiced it for about 2 years and received so much benefit from it:

During the day you come across many emotions
Start to observe them:

When you are angry or hateful, pray for the peace and forgiveness that comes from the awareness that everyone suffers

When you feel confused, simplify your thoughts and pray for clarity and ask yourself: Is there anything I am avoiding to see or feel?

When you are agitated and disturbed, release and become silent and pray for calm

When you are impatient and rude, pray for humility and know that in humility there is no one better then you

When you have fear, pray to tolerate the fear. Scream if you have to

Observe your emotions and recognize that you need help and pray.

The power of prayer while we sleep

A practice that is not well-known is going to sleep in prayer.

Conscious sleeping is when a part of you is aware while you sleep.

During your sleep your ego defenses and your barriers are not so dominant. So the special help from God can more easily help you.

The state in what you go to sleep determines how much movement you will have during your sleep.

This is important to know for this age.

So even of you have a busy life and seem not to have time or the space to go within and connect to that prayerful state you can always fall asleep in a state of prayer and experience the power of prayer through your heartfelt and sincere desire.

If you like here is guided meditation to help you fall asleep in a conscious way.

A guided sleep meditation