Article Source: The Positive Observer

The past year has been a year of prayer. Prayers have been present in the home, throughout the country and across the world. The reasons for prayer have been based on both want and on need.  Prayers have been directed towards religious sources as well as spiritual sources. Many were self initiated, while others were conducted in group settings. Regardless of the parameters surrounding each, consider the quality of each prayer. Ask yourself and ask others.

What degree of individual involvement occurred before, during and after each prayer? What part of the individual was expressed? Where did the words come from? Were the prayers based solely on reactions towards other people and entities or were they a means to unify with self, self connections and a higher source of power? These questions are not to criticize or congratulate the efforts made; rather, they are a means to determine substance and intent. Prayers are more than just pleading, begging, demanding, petitioning, appealing and requesting help. They are a sincere devotion between self, higher self and a higher power.

Prayer is a beautiful and powerful practice. It is important to be mindful of where you are in the prayer and what the outcome is to be. Where and how is prayer in your life? How have or do you act on your prayers? Will your actions be based around trying or actually doing?  Changes do happen all the time, but have you positioned yourself to actually notice the changes and be a part of them? Are you truly ready to embrace them once they begin to reveal themselves? If prayer is truly from the heart, then the outcomes and opportunities that are a result of the prayer will be obvious.

Finally, consider what you will do with the resources and outcomes of the prayer once they are obtained? Will you exploit them, ignore them, hoard them, waste them or will you apply them towards your spiritual-evolutionary path or support others in their own endeavors?

"By having more resources, you can find out more about what kind of person you are." - Jose Luis Stevens