What is Prayer?

NOTE: This article uses terms like “God”, “the Divine”, “the Lord”, as well as “Life” and “Creation”. Inspiritus Ministries affirms any term used to point at “Higher Power”, and our terminology does not reflect all those used in our fellowship or a bias within our ministry.

The key to effective prayer can be summarized with one word: trust.

In our ministry, we do not believe that one’s relationship with God is a transactional process. We believe it is a process of surrendering to greater and greater depth of trust in the Divine, in Life, in the world in which we have been invited to take part.

Many people’s default assumption is that prayer is accomplished by petitioning God. We do not believe prayer is like going to the bank and cashing in your prayer chips for some result in the world. Instead, we believe prayer is the process of becoming a child-like “imitator of God” and frolicking in the playground of God’s Creation, seeing Creation for what it is, and seeing the Creator’s reflection in it.

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”

– Ephesians 55:11

Rather than it being our job to evangelize on behalf of the Divine, we believe God evangelizes to our Hearts through our every experience, and our only “job” is to listen. We believe that the world is perfect in the eyes of God, in spite of our judgements about it. We believe that to judge in favor of the Divine Perfection that transcends our perception, is to see Creation for what it is. That said, there is a paradox lurking in this notion – and where we can stretch our orientation to the world to contain paradox, we open ourselves up to more of the Truth which transcends it.

Yes, the world is perfect just the way it is. And somehow it just gets better and better. And somehow that has something to do with us.

The continual expansion of Creation into our awareness is what we think of as the self-realization of the Divine, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, the spiritualization of matter and the materialization of spirit into a unified whole that is fully felt, lived, and experienced in the present moment.

The realization of Heaven on Earth starts with us. By “us”, I mean your current conception of yourself as being embodied in the world. I mean the intersection of our current self-concept in the moment in which we find ourselves, coupled with the faith that we are resting gently within the palm of God’s hand. By feeling the comfort of resting in a Divine embrace, we feel free to play in the world and to imagine what uplifts us, what heals, what inspires – like children. To pray is to understand oneself as a Child of God, of the infinite intelligence guiding all Life to it’s natural convergence with itself and towards it’s own flourishing, and to live that Life in our Hearts.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

– Jeremiah 29:11

The realization of Heaven on Earth begins by acknowledging that the will of the Divine is complete, “on Earth as it is in Heaven”, and that invitation we are being asked to take is to see the world as something more than what the senses tell us. We are being invited to see Creation as Creation.

“Recognize what is in front of your face, and that which has been hidden from you will be revealed.”

– Gospel of Thomas 5

From the Christian tradition, we are asked to “pray unceasingly”. Prayer is also defined by Christ as simply the “belief” that the things which we “pray for” have already come to pass (Mark 11:24). If we take both of these injunctions together, then we are actually being asked to trust in the fulfilment of our Heart’s desires naturally, automatically, and continually – like a child who runs towards the playground knowing their parents are nearby, carefully watching over them. In other words, we are provided for and we are safe.

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

– Psalm 20:4

We invite you to participate in prayer with us. And rather than seeing the fearful or undesirable state which has brought you to seek prayer as something which can be remedied or repaired by Divine intercession, we invite you to take up the staff of the Lord yourself. The Child does not say “I cannot, for I am ill” or “I cannot, for I am poor”. The Child takes your hand and leads you, refusing to see whatever it is you see that limits you, for you too are a Child of the same power which created everything you see before you and organized it in such a way as to lead you to this moment, choosing either your limitation or your freedom.

“No servant can serve two masters.”

– Luke 16:13

Choose to see yourself the way God sees you, supported gently in the palm of God’s hand, and free to imagine the desires of your Heart already fulfilled, like a Child on the Playground of the Divine.

When you pray for those who have requested prayer through our prayer request form, simply imagine them ideally, and trust that God takes care of the rest, just as God cares for you.

Thank you. Much love. Be blessed.

The “Praying In The Heart” Guided Prayer

Below is a guided prayer that we have made that our Prayer Warriors may use to aid them in praying.

Prayer requests from around the world, in your inbox.