Categories: Hazel Rosetta Smith,
To experience the power of prayer, it is necessary to understand what prayer is. It is described biblically as a sole sincere desire to communicate with God. As simple as this description may seem, it does not supply any particular or absolute instructions as to how one can communicate with God.
The Bible offers the historical model of the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 6:9-13 when they asked him how to pray. The words known as the “Lord’s Prayer” acknowledge who God is, open a way to beseech God, and go directly to what is needed from God to sustain our daily concerns and desires. The words begin the process of communicating with God and open the way for other individualized approaches.
Many believe they must choose between the intellectual and the spiritual, the rational and emotional. Have you ever thought to ask your physician if he or she prays, or stopped praying out loud in the presence of any medical practitioner or procedure? Most often it is thought to be more acceptable to confess to meditating or other techniques than to admit to prayer.
There is persuasive evidence that when both doctors’ and patients’ beliefs are compatible it affects the efficacy of the recommended medications and ongoing relationships. When prayer consists of healing words geared toward the immediate diagnosis, along with the patient’s innate temperament and personality, there is a correlation between what was at first seen and the improvement/healing observed along the treatment and final prognosis.
For this reason, believers in God hold fast to proclaiming that prayer works. It is not to say that prayer always changes the course of every medical condition, however, it is grounded on the invitation for God’s goodness and mercies to manifest.
Practice of prayer is engrained in every known religion since the beginning of time. There has always been God. To some religious orders, there are numerous gods and ways of communication that stem from meditation, chanting, fire, and sacrifices. The very fact of knowing there is someone or something bigger than us is the preface of prayer.
In this age of shifting paradigms and interconnected consciousness, prayer points to a future in which science and religion can find a common ground for dialogue. Prayer is as valid and vital a healing tool as drugs or surgery for wellness and wholeness.
Your talk with God should be as unique and individual as you are. Prayer is not a competition. Quiet down, get comfortable, speak plainly about your burdens and tribulations, and always include thanksgiving and gratitude. Pray your own prayer for you and yours. Be blessed, Beloved!
[Hazel Rosetta Smith is a journalist, playwright, and artistic director for Help Somebody Theatrical Ministries. Retired, former Managing Editor of the New York Beacon. Contact: www.hazelrosettasmith.com]
