Prayer is an amazing tool that can be used to help oneself and others. Sadly, people only resort to it when pressed in the corner or when desperate. Often time, it is at such difficult times that many start realizing that there is someone or something there, listening and granting their wishes, and so they become either religious or more open to the spiritual side of life. But when we use this tool as we develop spiritually, we can achieve a lot, provided that we know how to pray, or how to ask correctly.

“There is no doubt that within us live three brothers who fight each other and are never in accord with one another.
The first is the intellectual center, the second the emotional center, and the third is the motor-instinct-sexual center; the mind wants one thing, the emotion another, and the sex yet another.
In order for the concentration in prayer to be perfect and effective, it is necessary to form the prayer clearly with the mind, to feel it with the heart, and to move and act within the feeling of the prayer. To unite the thought, the emotion or feeling and the action into one sole thing, this is how the ego is eliminated.”
~ Samael Aun Weor

This is the key for a prayer to bear fruit, not only as a mean to eliminate the ego, but to get all kind of help in life, and to help others with our prayer. We first must know what we want; if what we want is beneficial to ourselves and/or to others, then we are already on the road to acquiring it. By beneficial, I do not mean satiating egoic desires, but something that is truly beneficial for the soul. During prayer, that which is asked for is correctly formulated in the mind and directed to whomever we ask, accompanied by correct emotion. “To move and act within the feeling of the prayer” is really something experimental, that we understand how it works and what it is during the prayer, with experience and communion with our Being, or masters of light, or the Absolute etc.

Samael’s teacher Krumm Heller (V.M. Huiracocha) has said that as we are all part of one universal intelligence, when we pray for someone, we receive the same benefits as them, or the same harm, depending on how we pray and what we ask for. That’s why he emphasized that we should never have a feeling of ill-will, aversion, or any other negative emotion present towards the man or woman we pray for. He also said that:

“When we pray for someone else, we should not assume their responsibilities; neither subject them to our whims or predominance. When doing a prayer for whomever that be, we should take the maximum care of not seeking to dominate them, and much less, to impose our will. Neither should we request nor want that they should be subject to our religious idea or our way of thinking on any matter. Even though we proceed with all sincerity, if the person is sensitive or negative, we harm them instead of benefiting them. We do not have the right of violating the law of free will, the Universal Freedom that not even God restricts.

“When praying for another person we should only think and want that they are benefited and guided so that they enjoy the best benefits, in accordance with their state or grade of development, and that, well-being, tranquility and peace be granted unto them. We should allow them the maximum freedom in the election of the divine gifts.”

This is very important to keep in mind, as it is not a seldom thing that people want for others what they think is how their life should be like, even though they often know that this is not what the man or woman they are praying for wants for themselves.

“Since the prayer is what is felt, we should not only watch over our thoughts, but also our feelings. When we experience aversion towards a person, it is better not to pray for them, because we can harm them. To pray is to feel and not what the mouth says; it is due to this that the prayers and the supplications of the churches and of public meetings are  nothing but vain pretenses. The prayers done with faith are always heard, because faith is to FEEL and to FEEL is to create.”

One of the most powerful experiences I’ve had with a prayer, was when I prayed for a friend who was suffering. I say powerful because the results were seen right away, which surprised me. That happened years ago, when I talked with him online. He was telling me about the problems that caused a lot of pain. I wanted to help, and I had faith that the divinity can always help, so I asked from deep within that he be helped. Not only did I ask that mentally, but with a feeling. It was a strong, continuous petition that lasted for a minute or more. Without knowing that I prayed for him, he broke the silence by suddenly asking me what I’ve just done. I told him what happened, and he was glad that I did that, saying that such things are helpful. Although my petition did not remove the problem itself, the pain was eased.

One prayer does not fix a whole issue. There are many things involved in how helpful is our prayer. For instance, karma affects the helpfulness of a prayer, as well as initiatic process of the Path. Also, if the man or woman we pray for is idle or indifferent, the result might not be so profound, although it still might be.

Finally, there is a need to be cautious with a prayer, because when done correctly we put to motion forces that move towards realizing what we ask for, regardless if what we ask for is good or not so good. If through our conscious acts such forces come to fruition, and the result is not in line with the divine law, then we face negative karmic consequence. That’s why it is necessary to have virtues such as love, compassion, empathy, and intuition present in our life, because those things act as a guiding light. We should always ask for that which we intrinsically know is good for ourselves and others.

HDP, April 2022.