How to pray:

Keys to effective and powerful prayer

Set aside a special time and place for prayer
Ask God to help you in your prayer
God is the doer
Center in your heart
Adjust your prayer according to the will of God
Use the name of God
Visualize what you want to happen
Let go
Be grateful
Be specific
Accept God's gifts
Gandhi once said, "Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the
soul."
Prayer is one of the oldest forms of devotion on the planet. It
is a source of joy, comfort and spiritual upliftment for millions
of people the world over and still remains one of the most
effective means of connecting with God (or whatever you
choose to call the Creator). It can be as simple as a "thank
you" to the universe, or deep and holy prayer uttered from
the heart. Here are some simple practices you can use to
increase the power of your own prayer:
Set aside a special time and place for prayer. You can
pray more effectively if you have a special time and place for
doing so. The early morning or just before going to bed are
good times to pray. It doesn't have to long - five minutes is a
great start.
It also helps if you have a routine place to pray in. It need
not be a whole room - a private corner in a bedroom or study
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will do. Find a clean place that is well lit and aired. You can
set up a small altar with some candles, flowers and crystals,
and favourite pictures of saints or angels, pictures of loved
ones or friends in need of healing. This is your private space
for going within so make sure you feel comfortable with it.
Ask God to help you in your prayer. God is not only able
to answer your prayer, but he is also able to make your
prayer to him stronger. You can also ask the angels or your
Higher Self to help you pray. You have a special contact with
God through your Higher Self, or your Christ Self. Your Christ
Self is truly your best friend, inner teacher and voice of
conscience. When you pray, it is your Christ Self who goes
before God to intercede for you.
There are some mantras you can use to help God and your
Christ Self to help you. Jesus once appeared to the
fourteenth-century saint Catherine of Sienna as she was
praying and said to her:
Do you know, daughter, who you are and who I am? If you
know these two things, you would be blessed. You are that
which is not; I am he who is. If you have this knowledge in
your soul, the enemy can never deceive you; you will escape
all his snares; you will never consent to anything contrary to
my commandments; and without difficulty you will acquire
every grace, every truth, every light.
Thus Catherine gleaned a profound insight: "God all, I
nothing", and the mantra "Thou the all; I the nothing" was
inspired upon her. Every time she recited it, she was
emptying herself for the divine to enter. You can also use this
mantra before praying to draw closer to your Christ Self.
God is the doer. The power of your prayers will increase
dramatically when you realise that God is the doer. Jesus
affirmed this when he said: "I of mine own self can do
nothing. It is the Father in me which doeth the work." In
prayer, it is the divine within you appealing to the divine
above.
The divine within you is a part of God that he has placed
within you as his child. It is a spiritual flame that burns within
your heart, and can increase in size by the power of fervent
prayer. This flame is the kingdom of Heaven within that Jesus
spoke about.
An eleventh-century saint called Symeon the New Theologian
spoke of this flame in the heart: "What words can describe
this! . . . I see a light which the world does not possess.
Sitting in the cell I see within me the Creator of the world."
The Chandogya Upanishad, a sacred Hindu text, tells us that
"The light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us
all, . . . this is the light that shines in our hearts."
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One Buddhist text says of this flame: "The road of
Buddhahood is open to all. At all times have all living beings
the Germ of Buddhahood in them." When you really allow the
divine within you to reach out for help to God above, the
results can be spectacular.
Center in your heart. We all use our outer consciousness in
daily activities. When we're at work, watching TV or playing
sport, most often our attention is focused outside of us. But
in prayer, we need to turn our consciousness inward. By
doing this you are "going into the closet to pray". You are
shutting your consciousness to the outside world to go within
and spend time with God. You can do this through a simple
exercise.
First, concentrate on your heart and imagine you are
breathing through your heart. Then visualize a brilliant sun of
light above you. It is so bright it is almost blinding. Then see
this sun gently descending into your heart. See yourself
entering this brilliant sphere of light, where you find your own
special prayer place. You may see your heart flame, Christ
Self, Ascended Masters or angels. Ascended Masters are
spiritual beings who once walked the earth like you and me.
They faced the same challenges of day-to-day life, making
peace with others, passing their tests and eventually fulfilling
their reason for being, and then reuniting with or ascending
back to God.
Talk to them about what is on your heart. Don't be bashful -
they dearly want to be your closest friends, and will listen to
you with unconditional love.
Adjust your prayer according to the will of God. There
may be many things we desire - good health, more money, a
better job, a new car. We all need money and other
possessions to live in a material world, and God is more than
happy to supply us with these things if it will bring us closer
to him.
But God knows what is the best possible gift for us at any
moment. There are many more things that he can and will
give us-gifts of the Spirit like compassion, wisdom and
healing that will make us a lot happier in ourselves, and more
at peace with others.
So instead of asking that our prayer be answered as we want,
you can ask that your prayer "be adjusted according to the
will of God" to receive the answer that is best for you and for
the souls whom you are praying for.
Use the name of God. Some people can get great results in
prayer just by speaking to God without using his name. But
when you use the name of God, I AM THAT I AM, you
increase the power of your prayer greatly.
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When God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, he told
him to tell the children of Israel that his name is I AM THAT I
AM and that "this is my name forever, and this is my
memorial unto all generations." The Jerusalem bible
translates this as "This is my name for all time; by this name
I shall be invoked for all generations to come." When God
revealed his name to Moses, he was giving us the authority
to invoke him through his name. To use this in prayer, simply
pray, "God, in your name I AM THAT I AM, please . . ."
Always pray out loud if possible. There is power in your voice.
God used this power when he said: "Let there be light." By
using your gift of speech, you can also increase your prayer's
effectiveness.
Visualize what you want to happen. What you think about
when you pray can greatly affect the quality of your prayer.
You can increase the power of your prayer by mentally seeing
the answers to your prayers. Always picture something better
than you are experiencing now, and see the answers to your
prayers come to life, just like a movie. You can also visualize
brilliant light surrounding the situation or problem. If you are
working with a particular Master or angel, see them
interceding on your behalf.
For example, if you are having difficulty forgiving someone,
concentrate on feelings of peace, understanding and
forgiveness. See the two of you hugging, making up and
being friends. See that newfound friendship getting stronger
with understanding and acceptance. Even if you don't mean it
to start off with and have to grit your teeth to do it, you will
find that it works and, over time, will be able to love that
person.
Let go. You can increase your prayer's power by letting go
and turning over to God whatever you are praying about.
When you do this, your prayer soars heavenward, allowing
God and his angels to work on answering it without
hindrance.
When you don't let go, your energies can interfere with the
prayer being answered as swiftly and as powerfully as
possible. Don't be attached to the outcome of your prayers
and try not to anticipate how your desires will be fulfilled. For
many, waiting for the answers to their prayers is their
greatest test. They often become discouraged and give up
just as God is about to answer their prayers.
If you have any doubts about God's ability to answer your
prayers, turn them over to him and ask him for the faith to
believe in him.
Be grateful. By cultivating gratitude, you open yourself to
receiving more of God's gifts. Gratitude is the law of increase.
If you thank God not only for the answers you do receive, but
for those you don't, or unexpected answers, you open
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yourself up to receiving more from him. You can express this
at the end of your prayer, for example, as you adjust your
prayer according to God's will you can say: "I thank you God
and accept it done now with full power according to your will.
Amen."
You can also express your gratitude to God throughout the
day and send him thanks for the answers to your prayers.
Don't be disappointed if your prayers aren't answered
immediately. God may be trying to lead you in another
direction that will be more beneficial to you.
Prayer is two-way, so don't forget to listen to God throughout
the day for his replies. Be prepared for results, even if they
aren't the ones you are expecting. Many people have had
their prayers answered even years later when they forgot all
about them.
Be specific. The more specific you are in your prayers, the
better God is able to answer you. As long as you are living
your life in harmony and devoting your energy to helping
others, God will help you with the smallest details of your life.
For example, if you need a new car, include all the details -
cost, make, model, year, registration, colour, condition and
mileage. If you need a spiritual gift, such as compassion,
explain the nature of the problem, such as judgment or
criticism, when and where it appears, with whom and how.
Ask God to help you overcome it, and be willing to follow his
guidance from your heart.
It can help to make a list of all the things you need help with
to be more specific. Ask yourself what you want out of your
prayers. You can recite the list each day in prayer, ticking
things off as they are answered, and adding new things as
they arise.
Accept God's gifts. God wants to give us a lot - often all
that we want and more. When we can surrender our desires
to God and allow him to give us what he wants, we open
ourselves up to an infinite source of abundance.
There may be times when you feel unworthy of God's love
and gifts. If you don't feel worthy to accept God's gifts, it
helps to "act as if". Act as if you are worthy, and a sense of
worthiness will follow. You can also use affirmations to
increase your sense of worthiness, for example, "I AM worthy
to be loved because I AM a child of God." Visualize yourself
radiating love and light as God's child while you repeat this
affirmation.
You are a loving and precious child of God and deserve all
that he has to offer.
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Edited and compiled by Craig Donaldson. Copyright 2001-
2010. For more information please visit the following links:
Spiritual links
The Hearts Center Community
The Temple of the Presence
The Summit Lighthouse
Ascension Research Centre
Personal growth and healing
Emotional Freedom Technique
Energy psychology techniques
The Institute of Heartmath
Brain Gym
Dr Joseph Mercola
For more information please email the author.
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