The Differences Between Prayer and Meditation

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You might think that there are no differences between prayer and meditation. After all, both involve isolating yourself in a quiet place, closing your eyes, and focusing your mind. But both prayer and meditation have their unique distinctions and benefits.

Religious people consider prayer as a valuable part of their lives. They see prayer as a way to send their thoughts and praise to God. Some pray to achieve a sense of connection and share their energies with God. Most religions have a seemingly endless number of prayers, from healing the sick to asking for forgiveness. Islam, for example, requires followers to pray 5 times a day, with the goal of expressing gratitude towards Allah, while prayers with similar goals exist in Christianity and Judaism. Basically, religious people use prayer to establish a deeper connection with God.

Meditation, on the other hand, does not involve a connection with a higher power. Rather, the goal is for you to form a connection with yourself. Instead of speaking your thoughts aloud, you direct your energy inwardly, follow your breathing, and sit in silence. There is no God or deity involved in meditation–it’s a solely personal practice which helps you reach a point of spiritual clarity.

But meditation and prayer have their similarities.

Both are used as ways to reflect on yourself and achieve a higher sense of awareness. Both focus on calming the mind and letting go of negative thoughts and energies. Both are ways to concentrate on the self and ignore your surroundings. There are reasons that almost all religions and faiths adopt either meditation or prayer as part of their practice. Both meditation and prayer help you attain a stable connection either with yourself or with God.

The beginning of the end of religion as we know it; 3 in 10 U.S. adults said they had no religious affiliation