A reverent petition or request made to the Collective Spirit (God). In actuality, the Collective Spirit does not intervene because God is not personal in the sense that we understand personality--it is love, law and wisdom. True prayer should enable a person to equip themself for service. Prayer is the means by which you attune yourself to higher forces.
As each of us evolves, opens up and reaches out through prayer and meditation, the opportunity exists to become more accessible to the higher beings who have greater power, knowledge and understanding. The more evolved a being, the more qualified they are to express the divine will. In prayer, like attracts like, so if ones' motive is sincere, unselfish and altruistic, the law of attraction draws those of equal desire to assist.
Those who pray with their hearts and their souls, seeking in prayer a closer unity with the Collective Spirit, seeking to make themselves useful instruments for his manifestations, emerge stronger and more fitted to be his servant. The revealing of oneself, the opening of the heart, in prayer, binds us all together in unity. These prayers set in motion certain vibrations, manifesting as a spiritual or psychic exercise, and bring a response. These responses may not yield the desired expectation, but reflect the result of the vibration created.
The utterance of words in a mere repetition of a formula achieves nothing. Often, stereotyped phrases are conveyed without sincerity and without an understanding of its meaning. Prayer is not intended to be a refuge of the coward who seeks to escape his obligations and responsibilities. Prayer is not a substitute for the task we have to do. Prayer is not a means of outwitting the Laws of the Collective Spirit. The Lord's Prayer in being stereotyped has no value in prayer other than being a useful formula. The Nazarene did not express it in the way it is delivered today. Man has grown and evolved since its utterance, realizing far more about life and its ramifications.
All prayers that do not spring from a heart that is willing to serve and which is conscious of its obligations and duties, can be disregarded. A prayer that requests aspiration, a desire for service, wisdom, guidance and understanding assists in the soul's evolution. The ultimate prayer is, "Teach me how to serve." It matters not which way one serves, whether by bringing the truth of the spiritual part of the Law, feeding those who are hungry, or taking away all the darkness in another's heart, just so long as we serve.