What to pray for - Are you including these things in your prayers to god?
We all have our own prayers and wishes that we lay down in front of the almighty. Have you ever reflected on what to pray for? Let's keep aside the intricacies of different religions, religious views, gods, goddesses, spiritual leaders and other teachings that we've been brought up with. Here is a realistic view on what we should all pray for when we look to the heavens and ask for a wish or two.
Good Health
One of the core elements of our existence and survival is good health. No amount of wealth or money will be able to replace good health. Well, at least not until the doctors come up with magical cures to every known disease and illness on this planet. Good health for yourself, your family and for your loved ones should definitely be in your list of things to pray for.
Loving family
Acquaintances will come and go, colleagues will come and go and friends will come and go. One bond that will remain forever is that of you and your family. Even if you have moved away from your family, you cannot ignore that there are people out there who carry the same genes and DNA. The irony about having a loving family is that many of us don't realize the importance of family support in our lives until we don't have it. Make sure that your prayers include your wish to have the support and love of your family at all times.
Real friends
No, not the ones who are happy to come along with you to as guest invitees to the night club or for joy rides on your new sports car. Real friends are those who will come along with you even when you don't have a single dollar in your pocket. Real friends are those who are with you for what you are and not for what you have or what you can be. Pray for real friends and ask the almighty to shower blessings upon you so that you can experience real friendship.
True happiness
Surely, the word 'happiness' tops the list of answers to the question, what to pray for, in the books of many people. And chances are that you do to. But do we know what exactly are we all praying for when we ask the almighty for happiness? What is happiness? For many, it would mean living a good life and not facing problems. True happiness, on the other hand is the feeling and strength to be happy despite the problems thrown at you by life. True happiness is about enjoying life as it is, in all its innocence, honesty and intricacies.
Love
Love is more than affection, company, attraction, pleasure and the warmth of another person in your life. Love is the unconditional acceptance that people have despite your imperfections, habits, financial situation and all the other 'baggage' that you carry with your. If you think you are blessed with true love, consider yourself very lucky because very few in this world are. Pray to be blessed with the opportunity to experience the true love of your partner, family, children and all the other people in your life who really matter.
Strength to work
It would be impractical not to pray for the means and resources to live a happy and healthy life. Well, at least not in the 21st century where money plays a major role in almost all walks of life. Mind you, this is not about praying for a lottery win or unrealistic gains. This is about praying for the strength and integrity to work which will enable you to provide for yourself and your family. There are no free lunches is life and we don't expect any. But we can pray to be blessed with the strength to use our abilities, knowledge, skill and hard work to earn for the good life and happiness of our family and loved ones.
Wisdom
No amount of wealth, health or happiness can arm you with the wisdom to live a fulfilling life. When you pray for wisdom, you are praying to be armed with the insight and ability to understand the happenings around you. Wisdom is about being able to perceive and decipher situations and people in their own right. Most philosophers term wisdom as "the ability to make best use of knowledge" As you can see, wisdom is not a particular thing that you can pray for but an overall enlightenment of your own being and purpose in life.
A thank-you note to the almighty
It is easy to be lost in our prayers because there's so much to ask for, isn't it? Well that's okay because we all deserve to have our own wishes from the almighty. But how many of actually reflect and honestly appeal to the heavens above to thank whoever's watching out for us for the life that we have right now? For all those of you who think life has been unjust or that your prayers are not being answered, here is an stunning eye opener that will make you feel blessed.
About 2.6% of the world's population or 160 million people are visually impaired out of which about 27 million are blind. In simple words, 37 million people in the world cannot read this article while the other 123 million will need visual aid.
Source: wikipedia
The number of people in the world living in absolute poverty is about 1.7 billion. In simple words, nearly 2 billion people in the world don't even have a computer, leave alone internet access to read this article.
Source: wikipedia
If you are reading this article on your computer, mobile phone or any other device, consider yourself to be blessed with vision and the resources to do so. Did you just take these for granted? So, the next time you are thinking of "What to pray for", remember including a small thank you note to the almighty to appreciate what you have been given, including your imperfections.