What is prayer?
Theists tout it as actual communion with the Divine. Of course, many of us here will reject that assertion, but that leaves the question: what exactly is it then? I'm sure many of you have read Christian accounts wherein Christians describe prayer as having therapeutic powers. I'm open to this idea. When I first began to study Hinduism and eastern texts, I used to use a mala (beaded necklace) to sing repetitive prayers to Ganesha or various bodhisattvas. Oftentimes, I was left energized by the activity. I wasn't so much a believer in any of it, just someone who incorporated it into a yoga, chi gung regiment that I employed to reduce stress.
This got me thinking about Christian prayer and what actual purpose it may serve to its practitioners. Is it a form of meditation or self-talk? Or is it pure delusion?
Theists tout it as actual communion with the Divine. Of course, many of us here will reject that assertion, but that leaves the question: what exactly is it then? I'm sure many of you have read Christian accounts wherein Christians describe prayer as having therapeutic powers. I'm open to this idea. When I first began to study Hinduism and eastern texts, I used to use a mala (beaded necklace) to sing repetitive prayers to Ganesha or various bodhisattvas. Oftentimes, I was left energized by the activity. I wasn't so much a believer in any of it, just someone who incorporated it into a yoga, chi gung regiment that I employed to reduce stress.
This got me thinking about Christian prayer and what actual purpose it may serve to its practitioners. Is it a form of meditation or self-talk? Or is it pure delusion?
