Ramakrishna Ananda

Before You Pray

How to prepare for selfless prayer

PURIFICATION

When you enter prayer, it is very helpful to first release selfish motives and personal desires. You may wish to pray:

Beloved One, please bless my prayers. May I pray to You, free of selfish motives, personal desires and willful opinions. Please cleanse my mind and heart. I seek that Your loving will be done, not my will.

Then mentally chant Amen or Om and attune with the Lord of your heart. Center in your soul and enter deeply into relationship with your Divine Beloved.

Discover the Miracle of Prayer, Prayer, Love

Western mystics often conclude their prayers saying Amen which means “Truly, certainly. So it is! May it be so!” Eastern mystics often conclude their prayers with the sacred word Om which means “Universal Spirit, allness, oneness.”

THE ATTITUDE OF PRAYER

Enter into prayer as God’s loving son, daughter or companion.
Be conscious that God loves and cares about you, that God listens to what you say.
Avoid the attitude of beggar, panhandler, manipulator or whining child.
Enter into a loving relationship with God whenever you pray.

WHICH FORMS TO USE

As you pray for your needs and the various needs of others, you will probably find in time that you use all fifteen methods of prayer. However, you’ll likely adopt three or four as your favorites and use them most often.

After your practice of purification and after you have consciously entered into relationship with the Lord of your heart, select one person or a particular situation and decide how you’d like to pray.

Now let us turn to the sublime methods of prayer.