“If, by entering the secret sanctuary that exists in your intimate and in communion with the Universal intelligence, you maintain kind and friendly wishes for someone, you will attract influences and thoughts identical to those you are emitting.”
~ Krumm Heller (Huiracocha)

Prayer is a powerful force that we can and should utilize in the inner work. People have been praying for ages, as they felt that there is something more out there, beyond what the eyes can see, that can help them with going through various situations of life. Many religions today include prayer as one of the main ‘practices’, and encourage their followers to pray both during services and when alone. Some religions use continuous repetition of certain phrases or words, while some others use more ‘conversational’ method, etc. Whatever the case may be, there is a reason why praying is emphasized so much.

Many people think of the word “prayer” as something that is purely religious or ceremonial, something that doesn’t have any basis in reality. However, prayer is equivalent to making a petition, or to a conversation with those who are higher up than us, those who have achieved inner transformation and are able to help us with our spiritual evolution. These beings and forces are a reality that can be known and experienced.

When we pray correctly, we open up a channel that is connecting us with other worlds, with the worlds above us, and with Great Realities that are above the created universe. This channel connects us primarily with our own Being, but also with other beings, angels, devas, and guides, depending on to whom we send our prayer. Esoteric wisdom tells us that God is Elohim, also known as the Army of Voices – the host of higher beings who have their own roles in keeping the Universe on track as it marches on the fulfilment of its purpose. So when we pray to what we conceptualize as “God”, it is very probable that the prayer will be received by those beings (or a being) who are capable of helping us with what we need. The same goes when we pray to a certain individual, or to an aspect of our Being (such as to our Divine Father or Divine Mother) – if it is not them who can help us, the prayer will be re-directed to someone who can.

By praying correctly we also develop our higher emotional center, we develop feeling, and it is through feeling that a lot of success with esoteric exercises (and with the inner work in general) can be achieved. Being able to feel deeply, however, is not only done through prayer, nonetheless the prayer helps with that, because when we go deep into this communion or ‘conversation’, when we open up our hearts through knowing that someone whom we trust is listening, we start to feel things more deeply. By this I am not referring to emotions of elation or excitement (which in themselves belong to a group of lower emotions), but to something that is of a much higher quality; something that those who are conscious of their feelings will be able to distinguish as a feeling of a pure type that arises with prayer, and which can also arise during meditation.

The most common mistake that people make when praying is that they pray mechanically, repeating the words or phrases, without a proper thought or feeling behind them. The results are then equal to what we put into our prayer. Nonetheless, we may still be helped with what we need, but not always as much as we could be if we would pray correctly.

There are several important principles to keep in mind when praying. First, it is necessary to be conscious when doing it, to be conscious of oneself and the present moment. Secondly, one has to identify the need for prayer. This need does not always has to be related to asking for something; it can be simply to open up that channel that connects us with divinity. When such channel is open, we can receive comfort and peace as the divine energy pours down on us; we don’t even have to ask for it, and yet we receive it, simply by putting our thoughts and time towards the divinity.
We need to know what we want, what we need; many people mostly ask for material gain, health and strength, but we can also ask to receive things such as understanding, wisdom, peace, love, spiritual knowledge, and many other important things.

Thirdly, it is necessary to really feel what we ask for, or what we say to divinity. When the correct feeling is there (which is the feeling that comes from the heart) then the prayer is augmented and a lot of things can be achieved. We attract much more attention from the higher worlds when we pray or commune from the heart, with the feeling that comes from the heart.
Fourthly, if a specific petition is made, it can be of help to repeat it three times, each time with consciousness and with that pure feeling behind it.
Fifthly, it is always good to be in a receptive state when praying. This comes naturally when the channel between the two sides is open and when there is trust. The more we see that our prayer has a concrete effect in our life, the more we develop faith, and through this faith we build up trust in our inner Being, and in the divinity in general.

It can also be of great help to approach our prayer as meditation, in which case you would start with sitting down in your usual meditation posture, and then silencing the mind, and from that state you can start your prayer.

When it comes to postures for praying, it is an individual thing – you can pray when laying down in bed, or sitting in a chair, or when standing in a line….it doesn’t really matter, as long as you have some time for yourself and can dedicate yourself to what you are doing at that moment. However, the more dedicated your prayer is, the higher will be its intensity. This is the reason why so many people like to pray in temples, because it is easier to focus fully on the prayer. The same effect can also be achieved in our homes, as long as we dedicate some time to the prayer, and are alone when praying. As prayer is a very intimate thing, something that is only between us and the divinity, it is better to be alone when we want to delve deep into it. Some people also like to kneel down on the floor or a cushion when praying, with hands outstretched, or positioning them in a receiving posture, or placing them on the heart.

We can pray for ourselves, and we can pray for others too. In both cases, it should be from the heart. When we pray for others from the heart, we nurture and develop love within, or rather the blockages that prevent love from flowing freely are temporarily removed.

We can also ask for healing for other people. With the latter we can just ask for it, or we can strengthen that petition by visualizing one’s own inner Being arriving to the person who needs healing and seeing him heal that person who needs help. When attempting a healing for someone in such a way that includes visualization, it is good to first obtain permission from that person, and always  affirming in prayer that the will of our inner Being is done, as he knows a lot more than we do.

Another important thing to keep in mind when praying for others, is to respect the free will of those for whom we pray. It is so common for people to phrase things like “please take this person away from the dark path and bring them on the path of light”. By the “dark path” referring to whatever path the person is on (might be very good path too), and by the “path of light” referring to one’s own religion or spirituality. There are churches who have group prayers and are making such petitions as a group, which borders with (or steps fully) in the sphere of black magic, because it is direct violation of the person’s free will. If we think that the person is doing badly, it is much better to ask for them to have clarity, protection and understanding, and strength to go through the learning that they are going through. We all have our own paths in life, and this needs to be respected.

Conclusion

There are many forms of prayer that one can choose to do, based on their own personal preferences, whether that be a known prayer or a repetition of phrases, or opening up a communion with divinity and conversing in one’s own words. Whatever it is, it is beneficial to do it correctly. Those who are on the esoteric path know the importance of creating a solid relationship with their own Being, and so they do it by the means of prayer. The help from our own Being is so great that with it even our darkness can be transformed into light. It is also important to nurture relationship with other spiritual beings out there, especially because there are many beings who are great and very developed, and who could help us reach our spiritual goals. When we climb up the path to Liberation, we need a lot of help, a lot of strength and energy, we need understanding and knowledge, and a lot of that can be achieved through prayer and our personal effort.

HDP, November 2020.