We live in a world where the rates of gold get calculated, but the level of stress is unknown. We can measure the factual but not always the experienced phenomenon, be it faith, life, love, and many others. In the queer modern times of today, it’s no wonder that the regular happenings whether big or small can take a toll on one’s mind and heart. This stress, doubt, loneliness, and emptiness give way to a lot of things in most people; from the more ‘wayward’ approach to the simple basic acts of restoring faith. Depression or anxiety, calls unanswered, goals unachieved, beckon one to test the waters on the other existing side of the universe, the one unseen yet perceived in the hearts of humans, the call to a higher entity: prayer.
Prayer is a call to an Entity
Prayer is a call to an entity whether physical or metaphysical and address whether spoken or unspoken that connects you with the said entity. Prayer is not just a religious act; it is a personal way of life as well.
People pray for thanksgiving, as a symbol of gratitude for their blessings, for hope, for help – supplication, or petition. No matter what the type of prayer and no matter what the manner, the prayer’s purpose is to establish communication with God. This establishment of communication is the central belief as well as the core point for the ‘acceptance’ of the said prayer as well. Once you know that God is listening to you, you move on forward with your prayer, you might even do it more often. This acceptance can be in the physical form, i.e. the accomplishment of a goal you prayed to achieve, or a job, any other wish coming true, or a simple relaxation you might feel after the simple act of praying.
Many people relate that the experience of prayer in itself helps them to move on in their lives and to be in harmony with their inner self or the ‘spiritual half’. This experiencing is quintessential or necessary not only for the prayer to be answered but for the one to develop kind of a rapport with the said entity or God. Experiencing communication with God is the quintessential basic of prayer. Its beauty lies in the answering of the prayer without even being answered in the physical form. Inner serenity, belief, a positive outlook on life, less stress, and the discarding of worries to be replaced by an innate faith are some of the basic gifts granted to the prayer as a reward.
Calling God in Different Ways
People from different backgrounds call upon God using various ways; some burn incense, Muslims kneel down in front of God, Christians bow down with their hands folded, Sufis dance or whirl, and many others use their own native or personal forms of worship and ‘calling’. But the basic purpose of the call remains the same, to establish or experience communication with God, to connect to him.
Prayer in its most basic form is the linking of a supplicating with the supplicated, to experience the metaphysical and to receive the ‘answers’. This connection is not always for the fulfillment of a worldly need, but for the need of the heart that can only be curbed by the one who created it.
