Having recently been in a very near miss where a car missed causing an accident by inches, I have been pondering how people often say they prayed in bad situations, or offered up a prayer afterwards when they were ok. Has prayer become something we only do when we are grateful to be in one piece, and what do we mean by it? When Sorita and I were writing Practical Qabalah Magick, the topic of prayer was one we discussed, as it is a magickal technique with a very long history, which has never gone out of style in the major religions.
Prayer is often a giving of thanks to the divine, but it is also used to request divine aid. In this it shares the same form as hymns of the ancient world, which entreated assistance from the requisite deity. Although as children we are not given a specific formula of this is how you should pray, beyond close your eyes and say the words, as a magickal formula it can have very specific requirements. In Qabalistic texts it is made clear that your entire focus should be on the prayer, and on the ascent of the prayer up the Tree of Life, from the mundane world to the divine. In this you are expected to put a lot of effort into the practices which facilitate prayer, such as unification of divine names, and in directing the prayer up through the Sephiroth to Kether at the top of the Tree.
Essentially prayer requires stilling of the mind, focusing of intent, and opening of the heart, which is true of magickal acts in general. So perhaps it is time we remember that this ancient form of magick, which surrounds us from birth, is one we can always make use of, and that we should not close our minds to possibilities or allow prejudice to creep in.
