How prayers can change your life

For Prahalad Prabhakar, an Associate Developer with a software firm, prayer has become a part of his life. While in his fourth year of engineering in 2014, all he wanted was to land a job at a leading software company, knowing well that this firm did not come to his college for recruitment. But it did not deter him from putting in consistent efforts and fervent prayers for the job.  

Prahalad was left awestruck when the company decided to visit his college for placements that very year. He breezed past the test, group discussion and interview in spite of students from other leading institutions putting up a stiff competition, and he got the job of his dreams.

What is the power of a prayer? How does it work?

Religious people might describe it as a ritual to connect with the divine. It could mean chanting hymns with reverence and faith. For others, it could be a call for help during trying times or a call in the spur of the moment. 

Suvalaxmi Chakraborty, Founder Director of Espandere Advisors, has a very close connection with the Divine and feels its presence while in prayer. “At times, prayer for me is just surrendering myself to my Divine and pouring out my heart to Him. Oneness University has taught me to have conversation with God — expressing gratitude to Him for the limitless grace that has been showered on me, getting in touch with my inner self, and then from that position of awareness authentically converse with my God asking him to help me out,” says Suvalaxmi. 

Prayer is building faith and finding yourself for some people. For Manasi Mathkar, a psychology student, prayer is not an everyday ritual. “I pray when I feel the need to connect with my faith. Every time I pray, I feel someone is listening. My prayer is a bunch of sentences that change according to the mood and the situation,” says Manasi.

Paramhamsa Yogananda talks about the science behind prayer. He said physical bodies and the world we live in are condensations of invisible patterns of energy, which is an expression of finer blueprints of thought. This vibration governs all manifestations of energy and matter.

Beginning with thought or idea then condensing into light and energy and finally into grosser forms of matter. Humans have the power to use thoughts and energy. By the thoughts we habitually entertain and act upon, we create the circumstances in which our life unfolds.

Senior Vice President, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sriram Ramachandran’s perspective about prayer has completely changed. “Earlier prayer was a routine request for me. But after becoming a part of Oneness University in 2000, prayer has become a conversation for me. When I have a problem, I talk and visualize the solution to God. When I have a problem, I talk and visualize the solution to God. Now pray for others too, which I never did as a child.

Prayer has completely changes for me”.

Researchers Ryan H Bremner, Sander L Koole, and Brad J Bushman as part of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University have put together research for the effect of prayer on dealing with anger and aggressive behaviour. In the three experiments conducted, it was found that prayer reduced anger (Experiment 1) and actual aggressive behaviour (Experiment 2). It also undid the effects of being insulted on cognitive appraisals that typically accompany anger (Experiment 3). Studies show that prayer reduces stress and also helps build better relationships.  

If you are an atheist and don’t believe in the power of prayer, having a conversation with the universe or nature as a friend, might just be helpful.