‘Prayer is an ardent gesture toward heaven, toward the Creator, and this gesture can either be silent or supported by spoken words. Of course, what is essential in prayer is not the words, but the intensity, the fervor. When people pray out loud, their words often have no force and fall by the wayside: their mouths may murmur something, but if nothing vibrates within them, they are not truly praying. Nevertheless, the words you speak are very important for the realization of your prayer on the material plane, because the vibrations of sound have great powers over matter.’

To ask… or not to ask

‘To pray is to request something, but there are requests and requests! Most people think that to pray to God is to ask for everything they lack. They need a home, clothes, money… they want to be saved from some danger or illness…they want a husband, a wife, children, and they ask all of this of God. Where are those who, before praying, decide to ask for nothing but to feel closer to the Creator? To truly pray means to ask for nothing else. And in this way, without asking for anything, they obtain everything. God is power, wisdom, love, purity, beauty…and little by little, those who become one with him acquire his virtues and all his riches. How can they doubt that one day they will obtain everything they desire?’

Prayer and the Value of Community

Prayer gives strength in facing ordeals 

‘Those who have developed the habit of prayer have greater possibilities than others for triumphing over their ordeals. When difficulties arise, they are less subject to discouragement, bitterness or desolation.

Many difficult events involve human beings collectively and cannot be avoided: a flood, an earthquake, a war, for example. In wartime it is impossible to escape privations and misfortune, but those who pray, who are active in their soul and spirit, transform these difficulties within themselves. Outwardly the events remain the same for all, but in circumstances which defeat or discourage others, or even drive them to suicide, those who pray find within themselves the strength, nourishment and encouragement they need.’

Uniting with all souls in prayer throughout the world

‘When you pray, try to create an image of a multitude of beings throughout the world, all concentrating on the Creator and uniting with him through their thought and love. Imagine that you are joining these beings and praying with them, that you are no longer one lone voice in the wilderness of life. When you solicit heaven together with thousands of luminous beings, your prayer is heard because of the strength of your numbers, and you benefit from it as well. It is when you act alone that your thought fails to attain its goal and returns to you unanswered. The secret is to unite with all those who pray, for at every moment, somewhere in the world, there are people in prayer.’