Can Non-Believers Pray Too?

A psychologist explains how to open up to spiritual help if you don't believe in prayer.

BY: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

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Prayer is a powerful way to open the heart when you are stuck in anger, fear, self-judgment, resistance, or depression. When you can sincerely pray for spiritual help in opening your heart and taking responsibility for your own feelings and needs, help is there. Spirit will find some way to support you when you really desire the help. Spiritual help may come through words that pop into your mind, through images, feelings, dreams, or through other people-but it will come.

However, what if you are too stuck to pray? What if you are in resistance to opening to spiritual help, or what if you don't believe in prayer or in God?

There are many other ways of opening the heart, but none of them will work unless your intent-your deepest desire-is to learn about what is loving to you and take action in your own behalf.

There are only two intentions we can choose in any given moment:

  • To protect against pain and avoid responsibility for our own feelings with some form of controlling or addictive behavior-anger, compliance, resistance, withdrawal, alcohol, drugs, TV, gambling, food, and so on.

  • To learn about loving ourselves and others and to be willing to take loving action in our own highest good.

    When our intention is to protect against pain, then even prayer can be another way to avoid responsibility for ourselves. Prayers with the intent to control the outcome rather than to learn will not be answered.

    When our deepest desire is to take responsibility for our own well-being, then many things, including prayer, will help.

    If you want to move out of your stuck place and prayer just isn't your thing or you just can't get yourself there, some of the following actions may help you open your heart:

    Think about what you are grateful for
    Find a way to help someone else
    Listen to music
    Take a walk
    Spend time in nature
    Open up to a friend
    Read spiritual or personal growth books
    Write in a journal
    Do a creative activity
    Dance
    Do yoga
    Attend a support-group meeting
    Play with a child or a pet
    Get held by a loving person
    Let yourself cry. Lovingly hold a doll or stuffed animal that represents the sad part of yourself.

    Continued on page 2: »

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    Margaret Paul, Ph.D., is the author and co-author of eight books, including 'Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?', 'Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By My Kids?', 'Healing Your Aloneness', 'Inner Bonding', and 'Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By God?' Visit her website for a free Inner Bonding course.

    Related Topics:

    Faiths, Loving Action, Loving, Stuffed Animal, Personal Responsibility, Responsibility, Action, Spiritual Help, Help, Personal Growth Books, Tools

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