But We Pray!

O God! Will you answer my prayers?
O Lord! Will you take away my tears?
O Divine! I am so worried about my fears
We pray, but don’t know the meaning of our prayers

Of course, most of the world does pray
Not many of us know the meaning of what we say
We just fold our hands and close our eyes
And call out to the one who we think is above the skies

If we pray, but don’t understand what we say
Then we don’t pray, at best we bray!
It’s time to stop and find out the truth
What is prayer? Get to the bottom of the root

Who is God and where is He?
Aren’t our prayers for God meant to be?
If we don’t know God, but still we pray
Then who is listening to what we say?

We pray because we have some desire
Or because of problems that consume us like fire
Isn’t there a reason we go to God?
Or just for fun do we pray to our Lord?

Some people pray because they truly love God
There are others who pray out of fear of the Lord
A very few pray to express their thanks
They evolve in life’s journey and cross to God’s banks

Prayer has a purpose, to God we do talk
Some stop to listen, they don’t just walk
Prayer that works is a two-way communication
A tool that leads to ultimate liberation

There are rituals and superstitions in every religion
They make us get confused and cloud our vision
We are so controlled by what our scriptures say
That we just blindly follow, day after day

Is prayer all about mumbling something to God?
Is it about praying, not knowing who is our Lord?
Unless we first know who God truly is
We may say many prayers, but the main point we miss

Therefore, in quest of God, we must go
We must ask questions until we ultimately know
God is not someone made of bone and skin
He is a Power that lives within

How do we know that God is a Power?
When will we stop praying at some religious tower?
If we must realize the truth about God
First know, who is the one that’s praying to the Lord

Self-realization marks the beginning of our quest
It asks questions putting every belief to test
Then we realize that we are not ego, body, and mind
We are the Divine Soul, this truth we find

What is the Soul? Is it different in you and me?
The Soul is a Power, different it cannot be
It is one Power that gives life to everything on earth
It goes when we die and it comes at birth

What is the Soul and where does it go?
Fill two balloons with air for this truth to know
When you deflate the balloons, where goes the air?
It merges with the air that is everywhere

So is the Soul, it’s not just in us
It’s in everything that moves on this earth, and thus,
Man, beast, plant, bird or fish, whatever it be
The Soul creates the life, the Soul is the key

Then we realize that everything is God,
We are all nothing, without the power of the Lord.
God is the cause, only effects are we
We would be nothing in the absence of He

When we know this truth, it changes our life
We live in bliss, without misery and strife
When God is within, then there is no fear
The Divinity in us wipes out every tear

Realization changes the way that we pray
For now, we know who is the one to whom we say
The Divine is not someone sitting up in the sky
He lives within each one of us, right till we die

When we know that God lives in every human being
He lives in every animal and every living thing
Then we realize serving humanity is prayer
Our love and compassion, God will surely hear

Prayer becomes simple seeing everything beautiful as God
True prayer is not seeing the beauty, but the Divinity of our Lord
Then we not only pray when a temple bell we ring
But rather, at every song that the little birds sing

True prayer is all about being connected with God
Being disconnected with the world, being one with the Lord
Transcending cravings of the senses and desires of the mind
True bliss and peace being with God we find

Some people pray hard, but they don’t pray smart
For many years they pray, but they never learn the art
True prayer is first knowing to whom we pray
And then understanding exactly what we do say

If we rumble and mumble a few words in prayer,
Is this communicating with God? Will this prayer He hear?
When we discover the true meaning of folding our hands
Then we are liberated, and go to God’s land

What is our life’s ultimate goal?
It’s to realize we are the Divine Soul
Overcoming ignorance, that leads to God-realization
Liberation and ultimately, Divine unification

There is a purpose for us human beings on earth
There is a reason why we pray after we take birth
Prayers create faith, trust, and love for God
And ultimately make us unite, make us one with our Lord.