The use of prayer

If one wishes to help other people through his prayers, it is necessary to do a few things first. The most important thing is to meditate every day. If you cannot meditate, then pray. But you cannot really help people without first getting the inner capacity through your prayer and meditation. If you want to help people, then help people after you have received inner strength from your own prayer and meditation. Do the first thing first. You have to pray and meditate. If you cannot meditate, prayer is also a form of contacting God. If you pray you will get spiritual wealth; if you meditate you will get spiritual wealth. But if you try to help others without meditation, without your wealth, what will you be able to give them? At that time you yourself are a beggar too.

Your prayer and meditation is your inner work. When you work in the morning by praying and meditating, God gives you your salary, your spiritual wealth. Once you have your money, you can give it to others. But when you get your spiritual wealth, you must give it to the right person. There will be many who need and want your help. If you give it to the wrong person, then you will only create more problems both for him and for yourself. Prayer and meditation will not only give you the wealth but also show you the right person to whom you can give your spiritual wealth with utmost effectiveness.

Your prayers can help another person, but you have to know how. You are praying to God and that particular person has God within him. When you pray for his welfare, you are not touching him directly: you are touching the God in him. Your prayer is going to God, the Source.

What do you do if a plant is dry? You need not actually touch the plant itself. You pour water at the root and the plant again gets strength. As you would go to the root of a plant, go to man's Source. His Source is God. The person you are praying for will get the most benefit if you pray with this idea in mind.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Prayer-world, mantra-world and japa-world, Agni Press, 1974
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