Prayer means many different things to different people. At its most basic level, it is the manifestation of hope in human beings, our ability to say that we don't know everything, that there is something or someone larger and wiser than we are that can guide our lives.

Mahatma Gandhi, father of modern India, described prayer as:

"Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening. There is no peace without the grace of God, and there is no grace of God without prayer.

Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action. Undoubtedly, prayer requires a living faith in God.

Heartfelt prayer steadies one’s nerves, humbles one and clearly shows one the next step."

"Prayer is", according to theologian Ann Ulanov and Prof. Barry Ulanov, "the most fundamental, primordial, and important language humans speak. Prayer starts without words and often ends without them. It knows its own evasions, its own infinite variety of dodges. It works some of the time in signs and symbols, lurches when it must, leaps when it can, has several kinds of logic at its disposal."

To L. Crawford,

"Prayer is a cleansing process, washing our thoughts, feelings, motives, and will, purifying the entire being including the heart, thus enabling us to see God, for without purity no one can see God.

Prayer is the greatest spiritual asset in the world."

Prayer may be individual or communal, private or public. It may be offered in words, sigh, gestures or in silence. Prayer may flow from the subconscious. It may even emerge in dreams, completely bypassing waking awareness.

Prayer is probably the world's most widely practiced visualization technique. Those who pray often begin with a relaxation ritual such as attending a house of worship or kneeling by the bed. Then they conjure a personal image of a God or some Higher Power and ask that the requests in their prayers be granted.

Many people feel profoundly calm after praying. Prayer is deeply relaxing, and those who do it regularly are, in effect, meditating. But science cannot explain some remarkable studies showing that to a degree that goes way beyond coincidence, prayer works.

Extrinsic belief may include such things as:

• Bare membership in a particular church or synagogue,
• Mechanical recitation of a liturgy, or
• The intellectual affirmation of a particular set of convictions or statement of faith.

What distinguishes extrinsic belief is that it remains in the head and never makes it to the heart. Various studies have demonstrated that these outward practices and affirmations don't have the power in themselves to improve one's spiritual status, emotional well-being, physical health-or much of anything else.

Intrinsic belief is characterized by such qualities as:

• Profound spiritual commitment,
• A sense of having found the ultimate meaning of life,
• A devotion to heartfelt prayer, and
• A quest for a truly transformed life.

This kind of inner belief is the key to real spiritual power. Intrinsic belief has the capacity to spark major personal enrichment in every area of life -including dramatic improvements in physical health, emotional well-being, and fitness.

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