How To Pray Effectively

Have you ever considered these questions?

• What is prayer?
• Why should I pray?
• How can I make my prayers more effective?

Most would agree that prayer is based on the concept that there is a power greater than the human, that we can communicate with that power, and that it is capable of responding to our communication.

The power to which we pray may be God the Supreme Being, a lesser deity, an angel, or a saint. We may locate that power outside ourselves, within ourselves, or both within and without. But in all cases, prayer is an attempt to communicate with a higher power with the expectation, or at least the hope, that it will respond.

And why do we pray? We pray for different reasons. If we are experiencing illness, we may pray for better health. If we are feeling lonely we might pray for companionship, or for more friends. Such prayers are called, by theologians, prayers of petition. That is, asking the higher power for something we believe we lack.

Another kind of prayer is the prayer of thanksgiving, expressing gratitude for what we have been given, either as an answer to our prayers, or through grace.

But there are other reasons for praying. One is just to express admiration, awe, or love for the higher power. These are called prayers of adoration.

Another reason for praying is to develop our relationship with the divine. Monks, nuns, and others who devote their lives to spiritual practice spend much time in these prayers of unification. In the Russian Orthodox tradition, such prayers are called prayers of deification, of becoming God, or becoming one with God.

Finally, there is the kind of prayer we pray when we have a problem that seems to defy solution. We "let go and let God" solve the problem for us. This is the prayer of release. It frees our mind from worry and allows the problem to be solved in ways that we might not anticipate.

Ernest Holmes, author of the classic metaphysical text "The Science Of Mind" put these five types of prayer together in a logical sequence which he called scientific prayer, or Spiritual Mind Treatment. Thousands of people have found this sequence to be very effective in producing the results they desire from prayer.

In a spiritual mind treatment we begin by recognizing those divine qualities that relate to the purpose of our prayer. Then we shift our thoughts to ideas of our relationship to the higher power and how we also possess those same qualities.

Next, we mentally accept what we are praying for. This differs somewhat from the traditional prayer of petition in that we believe we have already been given, or at least offered, all good things in abundance.

When we feel that what we are praying for is already given, our thoughts naturally turn toward expressions of gratitude.

Finally, we release our treatment. We turn it over to the higher power and confidently await the results, knowing that the higher power is working on it. This is an act of faith.

And speaking of faith, some say that absolute faith is essential for prayers to be answered. I disagree. I believe that faith is something that grows. When I first began using scientific prayer, I often had doubts. But as more and more of my prayers have been answered, my faith has grown.

Spititual mind treatment has changed my life. I am now healthier and more prosperous than ever before and have more peace of mind. It works for me and for thousands of others. Give it a try. Maybe it will work for you too.