Prayer is a demand of the soul. God did not make us beggars; He created us in His image.

A
beggar who goes to a rich home and asks for alms receives a beggars share; but the son can have
anything he asks from his wealthy father....
herefore we should not behave like beggars. !ivine ones such as "hrist# $rishna and %uddha did
not lie when they said we are made in the image of God.&
Paramahansa Yogananda
A prayer that is strong and deep will definitely receive Gods answer....By the application of
science in religion, your uncertain elief in spiritual possiilities can ecome reali!ation of their
highest fulfillment."
God is the love that upholds the universe the ocean of life and power that pervades all creation.
#hrough scientific methods of prayer, we can attune ourselves to that $nfinite Power, and ring
healing to ody, mind, and spirit.
%ome people regard prayer as a vague and ineffective e&ercise in wishful thin'ing. #he ordinary
person resorts to prayer only when in dire troule and when all other options have failed. But
Paramahansa Yogananda taught that true prayer is scientific eing ased on precise laws that
govern all creation and is a daily necessity for harmonious living.
(e e&plained that our physical odies and the material world we live in are condensations of
invisile patterns of energy. #hat energy in turn is an e&pression of finer lueprints of thought
the sutlest viration which governs all manifestations of energy and matter. #he whole of
creation was rought into eing y God first in thought or idea form. #hen the )ivine
*onsciousness willed those thought patterns to condense into light and energy, and finally into the
grosser virations of matter.
As human eings, made in the image of God, we are different from the lower forms of creation+ we
have the freedom to use these same powers of thought and energy. By the thoughts we haitually
entertain and act upon, we create the circumstances in which our life unfolds.
%cientific prayer is ased on understanding of this truth, and on application of the universal forces
of creation+ $t tunes in with Gods thought patterns of health, harmony, and perfection and then
uses will power to channel energy to help materiali!e those patterns.
Prayer is the science y which we can attune the human mind and will to the consciousness and will
of God. #hrough prayer, we form a loving, personal relationship with God, and (is response is
unfailing. ,e read in Paramahansa Yoganandas autoiography+
#he -ord responds to all and wor's for all. %eldom do men reali!e how often God heeds their
prayers. (e is not partial to a few, ut listens to anyone who approaches (im trustfully. (is children
should ever have implicit faith in the loving.'indness of their /mnipresent 0ather."
By patient and persevering application of Gods unlimited power, we can, with (is love and help,
create whatever circumstances we desire, and dissolve difficulties and disease not only for
ourselves, ut for others.
An unceasing demand for anything, mentally whispered with unflagging !eal and unflinching
courage and faith, develops into a dynamic power that so influences the entire ehavior of the
conscious, suconscious, and superconscious powers of man that the desired o1ect is gained. #he
inner performance of mental whispers must e unceasing, undaunted y reverses. #hen the desired.
for o1ect will materiali!e.
2ven true devotees thin' sometimes that God does not answer their prayers. (e does answer
silently, through (is laws3 ut until (e is asolutely sure of the devotee (e will not answer openly,
(e will not tal' to the devotee. #he -ord of 4niverses is so humle that (e does not spea', lest in
so doing (e influence the devotee5s use of free will to choose or re1ect (im.
#he /mnipresent God 'nows all (is true devotees, no matter in what form they love (im....6and7
answers their prayers in many ways. )evotion shown to God always evo'es some form of plain or
mysterious response. 8o true devotee is ignored y God.
God 9esponds #hrough 0ulfillment of )esires
A prayer that is strong and deep will definitely receive God5s answer.:At one time or another,
everyone has found some desire fulfilled through prayer. ,hen your will is very strong it touches
the 0ather, and the 0ather wills that your desire e fulfilled.
%ometimes (e answers y dropping a thought in the mind of another person who can fulfill your
desire or need3 that individual then serves as God5s instrument to ring aout the desired result.
%ometimes (is 9esponse $s ;8o;
People thin' God doesn5t respond to their prayers ecause they don5t understand that God
sometimes answers differently from what they e&pect or as' for. (e will not always answer
according to their wishes until they have fulfilled (is desire for their perfection.
%ometimes it is very good that we do not receive what we thin' we want. A child may want to touch
a flame, ut to save it from harm the mother does not grant the child5s wish.
2&perience of Peace and <oy $s God5s 9esponse
$f you repeatedly call on (im with ever deeper concentration, (e will answer your prayer. A 1oy and
peace will stri'e your heart. ,hen that comes, you 'now that you are communing with God.
#o utter ;God; with devotion, and increase the concentration and devotion with each repetition of
(is name, is to plunge the mind deeper and deeper in the ocean of (is presence until one reaches
fathomless depths of divine peace and ecstatic 1oy, the sure proof that one5s prayers have touched
God.
A susistent inner happiness unconditioned y any e&ternal influence is evident proof of the
responding presence of God.
God5s 9esponse *an *ome as an $ntuitive %olution to a Prolem
#here are two ways in which our needs can e ta'en care of. /ne is the material. 0or e&ample,
when we have ill health we can go to a doctor for medical treatment. But a time comes when no
human aid can help. #hen we loo' to the other way, to the %piritual Power, the =a'er of our ody,
mind, and soul. =aterial power is limited, and when it fails, we turn to the unlimited )ivine Power.
-i'ewise with our financial needs3 when we have done our est, and still it is inade>uate, we turn to
that other Power.:
,hen we are hit with difficulties we react upon our environment first, ma'ing whatever material
ad1ustments we elieve may help. But when we come to the point of saying, ;2verything $ have
tried so far has failed3 what to do ne&t?; we start to thin' hard aout a solution. ,hen we thin'
deeply enough, we find an answer within. #his is one form of answered 'rayer.
9ememer, greater than a million reasonings of the mind is to sit and meditate upon God until you
feel calmness within. #hen say to the -ord, ;$ can5t solve my prolem alone, even if $ thought a
!illion different thoughts3 ut $ can solve it y placing it in Your hands, as'ing first for Your
guidance, and then following through y thin'ing out the various angles for a possile solution.;
God does help those who help themselves. ,hen your mind is calm and filled with faith after
praying to God in meditation, you are ale to see various answers to your prolems3 and ecause
your mind is calm, you are capale of pic'ing out the est solution. 0ollow that solution, and you
will meet with success. #his is applying the science of religion in your daily life.
God 9esponds y %urcharging Your /wn ,ill Power for %uccess
Pour forth will power continuously through constructive actions. ,hen you persist, refusing to
accept failure, the o1ect of will must materiali!e. ,hen you continuously wor' that will through
your thoughts and activities, what you are wishing for has to come aout. 2ven though there is
nothing in the world to conform to your wish, when your will persists, the desired result will
somehow manifest. $n that 'ind of will lies God5s answer3 ecause will comes from God, and
continuous will is divine will.
#he ancient scientist sages of $ndia discovered how to e&perience an overwhelming communion of
1oy with a loving God. Paramahansa Yogananda teaches us how we can have this same direct
e&perience of the )ivine, through the yoga science of meditation and a new way to pray. (e wrote+
( 'refer the word )demand to )'rayer# because the former is devoid of the 'rimitive and
medieval conce'tion of a kingly tyrant God whom we# as beggars# have to su''licate and flatter.
here is a great deal of beggary and ignorance in ordinary 'rayer...*ew know how to 'ray and
touch God with their 'rayers.&
+ou have a divine right inherited from God to demand from Him; and He will res'ond to you
because you are His own. (f you constantly call to Him# He cannot esca'e the net of your devotion.
(f you 'ray until the ether churns with the light of your 'rayer# then you will find God.&
(ow to Pray for /thers
(ow can our prayers influence the lives of others? $n the same way that they elevate our own+ y
implanting in the consciousness positive patterns of health, success, and receptivity to divine help.
Paramahansa Yogananda wrote+
#he human mind, freed from the disturances or @static of restlessness, is
empowered to perform all the functions of complicated radio mechanisms
sending as well as receiving thoughts and tuning out undesirale ones.
As the power of a radio roadcasting station is regulated y the amount of
electrical current it can utili!e, so the effectiveness of a human radio
depends on the degree of will power possessed y each person."
#he minds of illumined masters, who have perfectly attuned their will with
Gods will, can transmit the divine power to ring instantaneous healing of
ody, mind, and spirit. #he writings and lectures of Paramahansa
Yogananda aound with e&amples of such healings. (e e&plained that though they seem
miraculous, divine healings are the natural result of scientifically fulfilling the universal laws of
creation. By conveying Gods idea patterns of perfection with sufficient will power and energy to
manifest them in the minds and odies of others, these enlightened ones follow the same process y
which everything in the universe was formed.
Any person who prays according to these principles will find that his or her prayers also have a
tangile influence. And though our individual power is oviously less than that which a master can
convey, when the prayers of thousands are united, the powerful virations of peace and divine
healing thus generated are of inestimale value in helping to manifest the desired results. #o this
end, Paramahansa Yogananda originated the %elf.9eali!ation 0ellowship Prayer *ouncil and the
,orldwide Prayer *ircle.
Thought is a force; it has immense power. That is why I believe so deeply in the Worldwide
Prayer Circle that Paramahansa Yogananda began. I hope you are all involved in it. When
people send forth concentrated positive thoughts of peace love goodwill forgiveness as in the
healing techni!ue used by the Worldwide Prayer Circle this generates a great power. If the
masses were to do this it would set up a vibration of goodness that would be powerful enough to
change the world."
, -ri !aya .ata
Here is one of Paramahansajis techniques to pray effectively for others:
*irst# wrinkle your eyebrows together a little# then close your eyes. hink of any 'erson to whom
you want to send healing 'ower.
"oncentrate at the 'oint between your eyebrows and mentally say/ )Heavenly *ather# ( will with
hy will. .y will is hy will. 0ith hine omni'resent will# 1 *ather# ( will with all my heart# with
all my soul# that this 'erson be healed.
0hile saying this# think that a current is going through the 'oint between your eyebrows into the
'oint between the eyebrows of the 'erson you are trying to hel'. *eel that you are sending a current
from your s'iritual eye into the s'iritual eye of the 'erson you wish to be healed.
"oncentrate dee'er and you will feel heat at the 'oint between the eyebrows. *eeling this heat is
'roof that your will 'ower is develo'ing.
"oncentrate still dee'er. .entally say/ )0ith hy will ( send a flash of "osmic 2nergy. *ather# it is
there.
his should be 'racticed from fifteen to twenty minutes. 0hile you are doing this# your will 'ower
develo's; and this develo'ed will 'ower will be with you continuously# no matter what ha''ens# to
aid yourself and others when needed.&
%ometimes people as', ,hat is the est way to pray for others?" %ri )aya =ata has said+
#o pray for others is right and good...as'ing, aove all, that they may e receptive to God, and thus
receive physical, mental, or spiritual help direct from the )ivine Physician. #his is the asis of all
prayer. Gods lessing is ever present3 receptivity is often lac'ing. Prayer heightens receptivity....
,hen you are affirming healing for others or yourself, visuali!e the tremendous force of Gods
healing power as a white light surrounding you or the person for whom you are praying. 0eel that it
is melting away all illness and imperfection. 2very uplifting thought we thin', every prayer we
utter, every good action we perform, is impregnated with Gods power. ,e can manifest this power
in greater and greater ways as our faith ecomes stronger and our love for God ecomes deeper."
Aeys to 2ffective Prayer
$n the -elf34eali5ation *ellowshi' 6essons# Paramahansa Yogananda has given step.y.step
instructions for reali!ing Gods indwelling presence through scientific methods of concentration and
meditation. And it was his great desire to see those who were practicing such methods serve others
from their own e&panding awareness of the )ivine Presence in all from actual reali!ation of the
world as one family.
#he effectiveness of the ,orldwide Prayer *ircle depends not only on the wholehearted
participation of as many sympathetic souls as possile, ut also on the depth of communion attained
y the individual memers of the Prayer *ircle. 0or prayer to ring Gods response, it is essential to
'now how to pray
*oncentration
%uccessful prayer depends to a great e&tent on the aility to concentrate the aility to free the
mind from distractions and to place it one.pointedly on whatever we wish. <ust as the scattered rays
of the sun may e converged through use of a magnifying glass to create intense urning power, so
the sutle yet powerful energy latent in thoughts, feelings, and spo'en words may e gathered into
all powerful prayer through a definite method of concentration. Bast reservoirs of mental power
may e tapped through concentration power that can e used in any outward endeavor, or
inwardly to gain e&perience of our immutale 'inship with God.
$mportance of =editation for 2ffective Prayer
=editation is concentration used to 'now God. Paramahansa Yogananda taught that efore praying
it is good to meditate, to gain awareness that we are made in the image of God." *oncentration and
meditation techni>ues such as those taught in the -elf34eali5ation *ellowshi' 6essons interiori!e the
mind, revealing the divine %pirit within. *oncentration on that inner holy Presence leads to direct
perception of our true %elf, or soul, ever one with God.
God does not wish us to pray li'e eggars," Paramahansa1i said, wheedling (im to give us what
we want. -i'e any other loving father, (e delights in fulfilling our worthy wishes. #herefore, first
estalish your identity with (im through meditation. #hen you may as' what you need of your
0ather with a childs loving e&pectation, 'nowing that your re>uest will e granted."
#he Power of ,ill
,ill power is an essential element in prayer. *ontinuous, calm, powerful use of the will sha'es the
forces of creation and rings a response from the $nfinite," Paramahansa1i said. ,hen you persist,
refusing to accept failure, the o1ect of will must materiali!e. ,hen you continuously wor' that will
through your thoughts and activities, what you are wishing for has to come aout. 2ven though
there is nothing in the world to conform to your wish, when your will persists, the desired result
will somehow manifest. $n that 'ind of will lies Gods answer3 ecause will comes from God, and
continuous will is divine will."
$n prayer it is necessary to distinguish etween a passive attitude that God will do everything, and
the other e&treme of relying only on our own efforts. A alance should e struc' etween the
medieval idea of wholly depending on God and the modern way of sole reliance on the ego,"
Paramahansa Yogananda e&plained.
,hen <esus prayed, #hy will e done," efore undergoing the trial of crucifi&ion, he was not
denying his own will. $t too' complete mastery of will to surrender to Gods divine plan for his life.
0ew people have developed their will power to that e&tent. But God e&pects us as (is children to
e&ercise (is gifts of reason, will, and feeling to the est of our aility in every endeavor. ,hile
utili!ing all means at our disposal to achieve success, we should simultaneously see' guidance from
the )ivine Presence within. #his alanced attitude leads to poise, understanding, harmoni!ation of
our human and divine faculties, and attunement of our human will with the will of God.
)evotion, -ove for God
Prayer imued with devotion is the most effective prayer. )evotion, love for God, is the magnetic
attraction of the heart that God cannot resist. Paramahansa Yogananda said+ #he %earcher of (earts
wants only your sincere love. (e is li'e a little child+ someone may offer (im his whole wealth and
(e doesnt want it3 and another cries to (im, @/ -ord, $ love YouC and into that devotees heart (e
comes running."
Anowing all things efore we as', God is more interested in our love than in long.winded prayers.
<ohn Bunyan said, $n prayer it is etter to have a heart without words than words without a heart."
=echanical prayer, devoid of attention and feeling, is li'e asentmindedly offering wilted flowers
to the -ord an offering not li'ely to get much responseC But if we call again and again to God,
with devotion, concentration, and will power, we will come to 'now eyond dout that our prayers
are heard and answered y that )ivine /ne whose power and loving concern for us is asolute and
unlimited.