AGPN

"Prayer is one of the greatest tools one can have in the world because it opens the door to a dialogue with God. To pray is to know to whom you are speaking, rather than the form it takes. Prayer means that one is engaged in a dialogue with God in particular. Prayer means that you are beginning a dialogue with the One Who created you, the One who never left you, and you are reestablishing that connection within your mind, within your heart, and giving yourself the opportunity to have a deeper experience with Source. Prayer is the opportunity to transcend the world in any given moment and connect with what is really True and Real. When one chooses prayer, one is choosing to step aside from all that seems to be happening and seek connection with their Father.

"If you say a prayer to God and you stop for a moment and connect with God, acknowledge God, thank God, or appreciate God in the course of that prayer, its function will have been fulfilled. If you say a prayer without acknowledging God or connecting with God in some way, then the function of the prayer is not fulfilled. It does not matter what is prayed for and it does not matter what the outcome of the specific request is because the function of the prayer is to connect with God, to remember Truth, to overcome the dream in that moment. This is not necessarily acknowledged or understood in the moment, but by asking something of One Whom you've never seen and have no proof of, just by that act, you are overcoming the world.

"If you say a prayer because you think you should, because it is the right thing to do, because it couldn't hurt, or out of an obligation or responsibility, again the prayer does not fulfill its function. A prayer can be as simple as "Hello, God" or "Thank You, God" or it can be an unending dialogue about anything you want to share with God. Prayer need not happen in a physical church, but in the church within you. If you are walking down the street, driving in your car, or shopping in a store, and you have the thought to say hello to God, thank God, or ask for something in as light-hearted and casual a way or as serious a way as you feel called, it is all the same.

Many believe they must be serious and reverent in their prayers with God, and yet that is unnecessary. Remembering God in a happy moment as well as a challenging moment is a wonderful blessing for everyone, and to connect with God in whatever place you are is always welcome.

"Prayer is necessary in the process of hearing God's Voice. It is not that you must get on your knees and pray the rosary this many times a day in these particular ways and then you will someday hear God. Prayer is what opens the dialogue. One person has to start talking for another person to talk back. It does not matter who talks first, what is said, where, how, or anything else, though as long as two people sit silently, no dialogue will occur. It could be said that God talks to you at all times, and at some point, you acknowledge that and you talk back and that is prayer. Then you hear God more specifically because you are now engaged in the conversation. Once you start a conversation through prayer, whatever that looks like, the relationship begins..."