Can Prayer Solve Our Problems?

From a very young age, we are told, ‘If you find yourself in some difficulty, just pray.’ And so, with folded hands, we stand before an idol or photo of God in a temple or look up at the sky, and we plead with God to take away our pain, our fears, our suffering. But are we ever taught to ask or find out: Who is God? Where is God? What is God?

We are encouraged to chant prayer s without understanding their meaning. We are never guided to reflect on the power behind the prayer, or the Truth that prayer is meant to awaken. We grow up believing that prayer alone will fix everything. But will it?

Imagine this: You’re walking through a dense forest, and suddenly, you reach a wide river. You want to cross to the other side. If it’s shallow, you may try to wade through. If it’s deep, perhaps you may swim. If you can’t swim, you may look for a boat. But if you simply sit by the riverbank and start praying—without taking any action—will you reach the other side?

This is the problem. We have been conditioned to rely only on prayer, without awakening to the Truth. Yes, prayer is powerful. Yes, it can give us strength, courage and hope. And certainly, it is good Karma , regardless of whether we pray for ourselves or others. But believing that prayer alone will fix all our problems is to live in illusion. Isn’t it said — God helps those who help themselves? So, we cannot passively wish for things to happen.

Prayer is a two-way communication with God. It is not only talking to God but also listening to God. We may pray chanting some sloka or mantra but if we don’t understand what we are saying when we pray, what is the point of such a prayer? And unless we silence the noise of the external world, we will never be able to hear the Divine voice. Our prayers are answered but not at our whim and fancy—they are answered as per the Will Divine: When the idea is not right, God says ‘no!’ When the time is not right, God says ‘slow.’ When we are not ready, God says ‘grow.’ But, when everything is ready, God says ‘go!’

If we go a step forward, prayer becomes truly transformative when it is rooted in Realization . When we become aware of the Divine we pray to, that God is not a person or saint, but the Supreme Immortal Power , a Power that is within us, that is everywhere and in everything; when we understand the essence of our prayer, it becomes a spiritual force. This happens through Self-Realization. When we realize who we truly are—not the body, not the mind, not the ego but the very God we pray to, we take the first step toward God-Realization. And with that, our problems begin to dissolve.

What kind of problems do we face?

We suffer through the body—pain, disease, discomfort. But when we realize we are not the body, that the body is only a temporary vehicle, our suffering changes. The pain may still be there, but the suffering ceases. Why? Because we no longer identify with the body.

We suffer through the mind. Worries, anxiety, fear, and stress fill our thoughts. We are tormented by a mind that refuses to rest. But when we awaken to the Truth that the mind itself is an illusion—a bundle of thoughts—and when we learn to use the intellect to discriminate, the mind vanishes. What seemed like problems are no longer real. They disappear, just like a dream fades when we wake up.

And what about anger, hate, jealousy and revenge? These are the diseases of the ego—the ‘I’. The moment we realize that we are not this ego, that there is no separate ‘I’, we are instantly free. Anger dissolves, hatred melts away, jealousy loses its grip. Enlightenment releases us from the prison of the ego.

The ultimate prayer, therefore, is asking for the grace of God so that we can be Enlightened. Prayer that leads to Realization, prayer that awakens us to who we truly are—that kind of prayer transforms our life. Not by changing the world around us, but by changing the one within. Not only do we transform but as we evolve, we undergo a metamorphosis—from a crawling worm, we become a beautiful butterfly that flies freely. We evolve from the lower self to the higher self.

Once we transcend the body, mind and ego, we see the world for what it is—an illusion, a cosmic play. And with Enlightenment, all our so-called problems fade, like mist in the morning sun!

Authored by: AiR - Atman in Ravi