The Power of Prayer
In many different cultures, people have claimed to experience miracles as a result of prayer throughout the ages. People have reported healing miracles or community miracles such as the coming of rain during a dry spell.
Does this have relevance to the modern world? In more recent times, Larry Dossey, MD has been a proponent of bridging the gap between this experience of spiritual healing and scientific medicine. Dr. Dossey’s book, Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine (1993) was a best seller that helped to raise consciousness on this subject and to show the scientific evidence of the effect of prayer on healing in double-blind studies. Dr. Dossey cites compelling studies and case histories to show how the power of prayer can compliment good medical practice and treatment.
What does it mean to pray?
Prayer is usually an emotional or devotional appeal to a higher power—the Divine—to intervene on one’s behalf or for another, to achieve a goal, a new job, fix a relationship, get something or receive a healing or blessing. What represents or symbolizes the Divine may vary from person to person. Do you know the symbols of your own mind, which ones are powerful for you?
There is no set method for how to pray. For some it is an informal inner dialog with the Divine. For others it is a formal process such as repeating some set prayer like The Lord’s Prayer or the Gayatri Sounds (Sanskrit prayer to the Sun) or in saying grace before a meal. There is some distinction between prayer and meditation. However, even meditation can be thought of as a type of focused and extended prayer.
When we are faced with problems that seem to be beyond our ability to solve, we may be forced to resort to prayer for even imagining a solution. When we look at the current state of affairs in the world, the environment, the economy, we may well wonder what we can do to help with such overwhelming issues? How can we fix the problems in the Middle East? How can we fix the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? How can we find peaceful solutions to the armed conflicts of the world?
We can pray.
There are no limitations to what can be affected by prayer. We only need to focus our attention, look to the Divine and ask. The key to the unleashing of the power of prayer may be revealed in the simple instruction: “Ask and you will receive.” We simply have to ask.
Energy Follows Thought
If there is one principle that summarizes how prayer can effect healing and happenings in the external world it is the idea that Energy Follows Thought. This principle works both positively and negatively. Though prayer is a powerful focusing and asking of the Divine for an intervention, everyone is also constantly, although in a less intentional way, engaged in the process of affecting the world through their general thoughts and feelings. Any moment by moment worrying and agitating in one’s mind and heart about any troubles can be actually be attracting fears and worries into manifestation. This underlines the importance of staying positive.
As an ongoing Mind Science experiment we need to become truly conscious of what we allow into the focus of our hearts and minds. Be alert as to where you are focusing your thoughts and feelings. Look to the Divine. Think of what you want. Feel it with your heart. Ask for solutions.
