The essential power of prayer does not lie in the method, but in our heart.
In our deepest being, we love God infinitely.
Prayer is meant to reconnect us with this innermost and most precious part of our humanity.
When we turn inward and do not immediately find God, a process begins.
We experience emptiness and loneliness.
If we endure this and don’t allow ourselves to be immediately diverted or distracted, the longing for God begins to grow naturally.
Some Christian mystics say that the longing for God is already a grace that God has placed within us. In fact, it is the decisive drive of the mystics to seek God within.
As deep as human relationships may be, they cannot satisfy this longing.
In comparison, they often feel superficial and distant. The relationship with God is closer than we could ever imagine.
Longing knows this and drives us not to give up until we have found God.
Within our longing for God, love for Him is already present.
When we feel this love, it acts like a magnet that draws God toward us.
The closeness to God that we then experience is a natural result of our love for Him and at the same time a gift of grace. If we stay in contact with the deepest core of our being and consciously feel this love, God will visit us sooner or later.
Sun Myung Moon says that not even God can escape this principle.
Longing grows deeper
Along the path of prayer, longing becomes so intense that we want to pray in every moment.
This doesn’t mean we want to sit in a prayer room with folded hands all the time. Rather, it means we begin to desire to turn inwardly to God again and again and to involve Him in everything.
Sometimes I lie on the couch listening to rock music. I try to enjoy the moment mindfully. Yet even here, I sometimes feel the longing for God, and suddenly the moment turns into an intense prayer - without prayer posture, surrounded by skull decorations and party lights.
What matters is the inner connection, not the outer environment or our outward actions.
If you have the heart of a child looking for its mother, you can walk the path to God.
Often I have prayed with my mantra while knocking plaster off the walls - covered from top to bottom with dust. Especially in extreme or uncomfortable moments, we can be particularly close to God when we have access to our original heart.
If we don’t yet feel this longing clearly, there’s no need to worry.
The practice of prayer will lead us there. That is the power of mindfulness that God has revealed to me.
When we long for God, it is not necessary to pray. But when we do not long for God, we need to pray.
At first, everything may feel forced, mechanical, or self-centered. But if you believe in the practice and stick with it, it will open up to you and carry you along.
God is real - and anyone who engages with it can experience this reality.