Prayer: Its Nature and Technique
Addressing the global online audience gathered for the 74th Global Meditation in Place today, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj spoke of how we can communicate with God. For centuries, humanity has turned to prayer when all efforts have been exhausted. Regardless of the language, tradition, or culture in which it is offered, prayer is a realization that there is a Higher Power that can do more than we can.
Whether we pray for ourselves or ask for something on behalf of another, prayers often focus on achieving material gains of this physical world. This is because the physical world is what we know. So, what is it that we should pray for? As human beings, our knowledge of our lives and the world around us is limited. God, however, knows our past, our present, and our future, and as such knows what is best for us. Our prayer to God should simply be for God’s Will, not our will, to play out in our lives.
What is the right technique for praying to God? The saints teach us that the soul within is a droplet of the Ocean of God. There is a part of God that is already inside us, and prayer then becomes a communication with a divine Power that resides within. God hears our prayers no matter what language in which they are uttered. What is important is the sincerity with which they are offered. When we come to God with humility, as an empty cup, devoid of ego and our own ideas about what is best for us, and when we surrender to God’s Will, we can be sure that peace, love, joy, and harmony will prevail.
Prayer is a conversation where we talk to God. By contrast, meditation is a conversation where we listen to God and open up for God’s grace in our lives. As we learn the technique of meditation, we learn the means to communicate with God in the right manner, such that we become recipients of the unbounded grace that is being showered in our direction.