{"id":1166,"date":"2012-05-03T07:59:04","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T11:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/awakeintheworld\/?p=1166"},"modified":"2012-05-03T07:59:04","modified_gmt":"2012-05-03T11:59:04","slug":"praying-from-the-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html","title":{"rendered":"Praying From the Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Praying is a way to connect with the divine. In the traditional sense, in prayer we often ask for our heart\u2019s desire. The heart yearns for many things and those yearnings bring lessons that help us to grow and understand a greater view of life and our spiritual nature. They move us in the direction of our soul needs to help us expand and move more into sync with divine wisdom. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The original sense of the word \u201cprayer\u201d comes from the Latin root \u201cprecaria\u201d which means \u201cto beg.\u201d Often our prayers may sound like begging as we seek help to understand a difficult situation, or intervention on behalf of a loved one who is endanger.<\/p>\n

The renowned yogi, Yogananda offered up several noble prayers for inspiration that may inspire you on this national day of prayer.<\/p>\n

“<\/strong>Dear Father, whatever conditions confront me, I know that they represent the next step in my unfoldment. I will welcome all tests because I know that within me is the intelligence to understand and the power to overcome.” — from Where There is Light<\/em> by Paramahansa Yogananda<\/p>\n

“O Divine Teacher, let me realize that though the gloom of my ignorance be age-old, with the dawn of Thy light the darkness will vanish as though it had never been.” — from Where There is Light<\/em> by Paramahansa Yogananda<\/p>\n

“Bless me, that I may find Thee in the temple of each thought and activity. Finding Thee within, I will find Thee without, in all people, and in all conditions.” — from Where There is Light<\/em> by Paramahansa Yogananda*<\/p>\n

Another ancient prayer comes from the Asatoma Mantra usually in Sanskrit. The words ask for wisdom and light on the path to realization.<\/p>\n

Lead us from the unreal to the real,<\/p>\n

Lead us from darkness to light,<\/p>\n

Lead us from death to immortality.<\/p>\n

Peace, Peace, Peace.<\/p>\n

But prayers that originate from the purity of your heart will arise and fly straight to the source. What will you pray for today?<\/p>\n

(*Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA. All rights reserved)<\/p>\n

\u00a0Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Praying is a way to connect with the divine. In the traditional sense, in prayer we often ask for our heart\u2019s desire. The heart yearns for many things and those yearnings bring lessons that help us to grow and understand a greater view of life and our spiritual nature. They move us in the direction…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,10,4,26,125,13,3],"tags":[736,346,345,734,735,537],"class_list":["post-1166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-faith","category-inspiration","category-meditation","category-oneness","category-prayer","category-spiritual-practice","tag-asatoma","tag-awake-in-the-world","tag-debra-moffitt","tag-national-prayer-day","tag-prayer-for-peace","tag-yogananda"],"yoast_head":"\nPraying From the Heart - Awake in the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Praying From the Heart - Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Praying is a way to connect with the divine. In the traditional sense, in prayer we often ask for our heart\u2019s desire. The heart yearns for many things and those yearnings bring lessons that help us to grow and understand a greater view of life and our spiritual nature. They move us in the direction…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-03T11:59:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/~\/media\/78A025A26DD9411996C28D3CA0BF852D.ashx?w=400&h=300\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"debramoffitt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Praying From the Heart - Awake in the World","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Praying From the Heart - Awake in the World","og_description":"Praying is a way to connect with the divine. In the traditional sense, in prayer we often ask for our heart\u2019s desire. The heart yearns for many things and those yearnings bring lessons that help us to grow and understand a greater view of life and our spiritual nature. They move us in the direction…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html","og_site_name":"Awake in the World","article_published_time":"2012-05-03T11:59:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/~\/media\/78A025A26DD9411996C28D3CA0BF852D.ashx?w=400&h=300"}],"author":"debramoffitt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html","name":"Praying From the Heart - Awake in the World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/~\/media\/78A025A26DD9411996C28D3CA0BF852D.ashx?w=400&h=300","datePublished":"2012-05-03T11:59:04+00:00","dateModified":"2012-05-03T11:59:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/#\/schema\/person\/02075581804fd841fea631836d89cb7e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/~\/media\/78A025A26DD9411996C28D3CA0BF852D.ashx?w=400&h=300","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/~\/media\/78A025A26DD9411996C28D3CA0BF852D.ashx?w=400&h=300"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/05\/praying-from-the-heart.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Praying From the Heart"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/","name":"Awake in the World","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Debra Moffitt","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/#\/schema\/person\/02075581804fd841fea631836d89cb7e","name":"debramoffitt","description":"Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at www.debramoffitt.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/author\/debramoffitt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1166"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1169,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions\/1169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}