A Simple Prayer, that can change your life

 

A Simple Prayer, 

that can change your life

Prayer is a precious ritual, which has been a part of mankind for centuries. People pray differently, yet prayer is omnipresent across all cultures. Prayer doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a religious ritual. A prayer is less about worshipping a deity or confessing our sins. It is more about finding peace and happiness, in our life.

 

How many of you have the habit of Praying? If you do pray, what do you pray for? Most often, it goes something like this, “Please help me achieve my goal”; “Please keep my family safe and happy; Please help me tide over this crisis” etc.  In other words, we would ask for some favour, from the Supreme Power.

 

But, if we look at our daily life, we are constantly worrying about something or other that puts us in a constant state of stress and anxiety. It could be something related to our health condition, financial issues or relationship issues. And if you ponder, a little deeper, you will realize that it is fear, that is gripping us. Author Debra Landwehr Engle,  the author of the book,  “The only prayer you will ever need” was a victim too, of what she calls “fear-based thoughts” until she found a simple, yet powerful, way to unburden herself from them. A short, six-word prayer, which she whispered in times of need, had the power to root out negative thoughts and shift her perspective from fear to love. The prayer is “Please heal my fear-based thoughts.”

 

Prayers usually ask for something in the external environment to change; but this one is different.   Instead of asking for things to change in the world around you, you ask for yourself to be changed.

 

Let’s look at how the prayer can be applied to a specific situation. Take this prayer: “Please help me find the money to pay my loan instalment this month.” There’s nothing wrong with this prayer. However, this relief will only be temporary. Before long, your mind will start seeking out new worries like, “Even if I can pay my loan instalment this month, what happens next month?”, “What if my income dries up altogether?” This is because the prayer doesn’t change anything in you. The result? You sink back into old patterns, recreating the problem in different ways. On the other hand, if you say the words “Please heal my fear-based thoughts about this loan,” it doesn’t just lift the burden of the problem temporarily, it heals your fear-based thoughts , liberating you to live a life without fear and with greater peace of mind.

 

The term “fear-based thoughts” helps us realize that, no matter how big our fears are, they’re just thoughts, and thoughts can be changed. A quote by Wayne Dyer goes, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at begin to change.’ Similarly, this prayer helps us with a change of perspective. By asking for yourself to be changed,  you can be sure that the world around you will change as a result. 

   

Fear is pervasive. It keeps penetrating into our lives, through Newspapers, TV or Social media, such as the pandemic outbreak, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and so on. Fear is present inside us too, in the form of never-ending worries about money, our jobs and our families.  

 

All of us have moments where life feels overwhelming. This is where this  prayer can help. When you heal your fear-based thoughts, you gain the  strength to shift them towards love-based ones – like acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness. The prayer helps you accept the things you can’t change. Similar to the serenity prayer, which goes like this. “Oh God! grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

 

So, this simple prayer – “Please heal my fear-based thoughts” – can help you build resilience and find calm in the chaos. Saying this prayer puts you, and the world around you, on the path to greater peace of mind. Incorporate the prayer into your daily routine and be patient with the results. Let go of any expectations you may have and instead allow yourself to become a passive bystander, simply watching as things unfold before you. Most importantly,  don’t give up before you fully give the prayer a try.

  D. Senthil Kannan,

  Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

  Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

  Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com