My mother starts her day with a prayer, ends it with a prayer, prays for endless hours in between — and keeps enforcing her prayers on all the members of the family. I guess most mothers are like this. On the other hand, I occasionally see my father in prayer. I guess most fathers are also like this. Earlier he used to pray may be once a month for a minute or two. But as an outcome of years of my mother’s company, he bows in gratitude every morning for at least two minutes.

This leaves the two young men of the house — myself and my younger brother. I have a great sense of gratitude towards life and I always keep God in my heart — one of the many good things I have inherited from my mother. And my younger brother, if he baths every day, that is no less than a prayer. I guess most younger siblings are also like this.

Everybody has their own ways to pray — and its okay. For some it is a daily five time ritual while for others it’s an evening routine. Some visit chapel every Sunday morning, while others always keep the Almighty in their hearts. All of them are equally good, and none is better than the other. We all decide what is best for ourselves. I have always believed that you can never teach anyone how to pray, but just show them — and let them take what they want to take.

Personally, I read a lot of religious scriptures, often pertaining to different religious beliefs. They are necessary for our own well being and upliftment. However, my prayers are more of a conversation with God, and We are both happy to have it this way. He hasn’t complained once.

I. Your prayers need not have words. God can understand emotions.

A bird, a lion, a mouse and a man all say different languages, yet God hears them all. A mute cannot speak, yet God hears him as well. Safe to say, that our words do not define our prayers, but our emotions do.

All the religious sermons and hymns are all very helpful, as they help to inculcate the right thought process in our hearts — but at the end it is what we feel during a prayer is what matters the most, and not necessarily our words. If your emotions are in the right place, your prayer is successful.

Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue — Adam Clarke

II. Your prayers are a reflection of your relationship with God. He will take on any role that you desire.

One of my very loved philosopher, Rumi, often quotes God as his lover in his poems, and how he longs for him. Some portray him as a friend, some as a brother, some as a father — all is ok to Him.

He takes on any role that you desire.

III. Pray with gratitude.

We should not criticize God during our prayers. We can, but we must not. Often, when we are worried about one particular thing — that makes us forget about all the good things happening in our life. While it is good to address our grievances in our prayers, our blessings should also find a mention in our prayers.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough — Meister Eckhart

IV. Your actions are equivalent to a Prayer.

When Mother Teresa served the poorest of people in slum, she taught the entire humanity that “Service to people is service to God”.

I once met a farmer, and asked him if he prays. He smiled and said, “He would want to, but does not get time for it.” He did not need to pray, as his actions are a prayer in himself. Like words in a prayer, our actions equally reach the Almighty.

Work is a prayer. And I start off every morning dedicating it to our Creator. — Joseph Murray

While a priest goes to a church, a nightingale sings. Everybody prays in its own way.

V. Surrendering yourself is no less a Prayer.

One of the readers Love, left a very positive response on an article, that brought tears to my eyes. She said, “The universe will take care of you.”

The most powerful way to pray is to surrender yourself to the Almighty and let the universe take care of you — and I needed one of the readers to remind me of the same.

I talk to God every day, but He’s never said a word to me about religion! I think the most powerful prayer is surrender — Raymond Moody

Everybody teaches us how to pray. Often these include our parents, the society or at times our schools. But this is something, we have to define for ourselves. Our relationship with God shall define how we approach prayer. And whatever we decide, He will be okay with it — whether we pray all day, or don’t pray at all.

For me, as I am writing this article, I have a smile on my face and gratitude in my heart. I think that is prayer enough for me, and God surely will understand this.

Please share if and how you pray and how do you visualize your relationship with God. I would love to read them all.
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