The Incredible Power of Prayer

Thanks to donnaisabella for her lovely question. I would love to share my thoughts on this wonderful topic. My sincere thanks to onegreenparachute for the inspiration I got for making this hub.

God is my dear friend and a friend in need too. I simply ask Him if He would do me a favor and He does like a good friend! Actually I don't pray asking him for mundane things but when I am in real trouble which has been caused for reasons beyond my comprehension, I simply surrender to Him asking Him to pull me out of it if He thinks I deserve it. And like a close friend who understands what I want, He tries His best to help and if I deserve to be helped, I am.

I don’t criticize Him if he doesn’t help me so much as I expected because I have come to believe that it is my turn to go through bad times and suffering and if God hasn’t heard my prayers, poor He must be helping someone with a problem worse than mine or it is simply that He needs to rest a while! After all, all of us need to face adversities in life, otherwise what is the fun if life were a bed of roses? We would never learn new lessons in life without adverse situations though no one longs to be in one.

A few years ago, my son and I had a wonderful opportunity of listening to a great scholar and spiritual leader. He told the gathering that there was no point in asking God for this and that all the time. And then there was no point in complaining about God’s complacent nature if we didn’t get what we wanted (I have heard many people crib about God’s unwillingness to help them in times of trouble when in fact the only times they turn to God is when they have a problem).

According to him, our life is pre-determined. Everything from birth to the end of our life is already designed and will be executed at the appropriate times. There is no need to disturb Him by asking Him all for kinds of things. All the same we do turn to God for solace. There is nothing wrong with that. We do feel lighter once we have transferred our worries to God. But annoying Him with our whims and fancies will not solve our problem (“Oh God! You gave my neighbour a beautiful car! Why don’t you give me one too?” and other trivia) when we don’t put in any effort towards such things.

Whatever is destined to happen in your life will happen, come what may. No force or power can stop that. If God were to answer all our prayers, then there would be no death in this world. Mothers won’t lose their beloved children or vice versa. Couples will not be separated by death and there will be an ever increasing population that would make the world suffocated!

I listened intently to whatever the spiritual Guru had to say, and at the end of it I was convinced by what he conveyed. I understood the essence of what he said. Everyone has his/her destiny. You will have to go through good and bad times; perhaps praying to God will lessen the intensity of the problems.

I am not so much of a praying person but my conversations with God are very interesting though it is I who do the talking all the time without waiting for His response! Of course I do get answers from Him but that comes from within me; He shows me the way. That is more important than trying to see if God talks to you personally.

And I know exactly when my prayers are going to be answered - a beautiful inner peace descends on me putting to silence all the turbulence my mind was experiencing all the while - and instantly I know my problems are going to be solved. This is a practice of the mind. Your faith in Him is so strong that you know you will eventually get the answers you are looking for and they come to you from the deepest bottom of your mind that was surprisingly confused with all kinds of crazy thoughts just a few days or weeks ago or however long the problem had been bothering you.

According to my religion (I really don’t practice one now though when people ask, I have to reply that I am a Hindu by birth because I intend no hurt to anyone) we should regularly pray and this prayer has a certain procedure like lighting a lamp in front of the deity that we worship and chant ‘mantras’ to appease God.

It is believed that by doing this, God answers all our prayers. No offense meant, but I personally don't believe in such a practice. I do strongly believe in the Supreme power, God. To me He is one with whom I talk, exchange pleasantries- he is almost there with me all the time. To me god is a dear friend who would consider my requests and help me in times of need. To me God is one, some call Him Jesus, some call him Allah and some like me call Him Krishna.

Prayer is important but it is more important to see that your faith in Him solves many of your issues bringing you closer to Him. Through this hub, I want to reiterate the fact that your prayers will be answered if you are faithful and sincere in your approach to God and also pray for help only in very critical situations. The most important part, however, is the reminder that we should not forget to thank Him everyday for all that He has given us.