When most people pray, they don’t take the time to listen for God’s answer. Prayer, however, to be most deeply meaningful, needs to be real communication.
To learn how to pray deeply is to discover that the difference between the one-way street of normal prayer and actually conversing with God is simply the degree of involvement — on both sides. When we approach Him with deep love, dedication, and trust, we appeal to that cosmic, but at the same time deeply personal, love which He feels for every one of his human children.
All this involvement on our part is, in its own way, a kind of listening. We need, in the same way, to listen to God. The kind of prayer that most often wins a response is one in which the person praying converses with God: calls to Him, while at the same time listening for His silent response in the soul.
And that is, essentially, what is meant by the practice of meditation. Meditation is the act of listening for, and hopefully, in time, listening to, God’s whispered response in the soul. Try sharing your thoughts and feelings with God all day long. Listen for His guidance, His approval, and even His silent laughter within!
Does God really listen back? You’ll never know, if you don’t give Him a chance to reply!
Ananda Meditation App
A free app with guided meditations and techniques, based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. Go deeper in the joy of your own Self.
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The 10-week Ananda Course in Meditation online course is designed to provide in-depth instruction in scientific meditation techniques that bring more peace, deeper relaxation, and focused concentration to every area of your life, regardless of outer conditions.
These techniques are based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi.
