Effective Prayer

[Anonymous]

Prayer is communicating and developing a relationship with a higher power. To me that higher power is God. Communication involves expressing emotion, desire and yes, specific requests on my part. More importantly, prayer is listening: paying attention to what is happening in the moment, listening In silence and cultivating a practice of meditation with the purpose of opening myself to the will of God.
After all, if my higher power is higher, then its will is for a higher good than mine. The end result of this is, while the requests I have and beg God to see through are met with complete love and acceptance from God, they might not align with the will of God. I surrender myself to the knowledge and guidance of that higher power.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prayer is communicating and developing a relationship with a higher power. To me that higher power is God. Communication involves expressing emotion, desire and yes, specific requests on my part. More importantly, prayer is listening: paying attention to what is happening in the moment, listening In silence and cultivating a practice of meditation with the purpose of opening myself to the will of God.
After all, if my higher power is higher, then its will is for a higher good than mine. The end result of this is, while the requests I have and beg God to see through are met with complete love and acceptance from God, they might not align with the will of God. I surrender myself to the knowledge and guidance of that higher power.

Replying to myself to add, in other words, viewing prayer as a vending machine doesn't work. Prayer "works" to develop a closer connection with the divine and an eventual acceptance of the things I can't change, the wisdom to do what is right in any situation and an acknowledgement that I myself have no idea what I want or need.
It's fine to ask God for a new car. Just don't be surprised if your prayer doesn't work in the way you think it will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prayer is communicating and developing a relationship with a higher power. To me that higher power is God. Communication involves expressing emotion, desire and yes, specific requests on my part. More importantly, prayer is listening: paying attention to what is happening in the moment, listening In silence and cultivating a practice of meditation with the purpose of opening myself to the will of God.
After all, if my higher power is higher, then its will is for a higher good than mine. The end result of this is, while the requests I have and beg God to see through are met with complete love and acceptance from God, they might not align with the will of God. I surrender myself to the knowledge and guidance of that higher power.

Replying to myself to add, in other words, viewing prayer as a vending machine doesn't work. Prayer "works" to develop a closer connection with the divine and an eventual acceptance of the things I can't change, the wisdom to do what is right in any situation and an acknowledgement that I myself have no idea what I want or need.
It's fine to ask God for a new car. Just don't be surprised if your prayer doesn't work in the way you think it will.

But if you get the new car, then you can thank god for it?